THE  STORY 
OF  DUTCH  PAINTING 


MAN  \VHH  A  FUR  CAP 

THE  MLSKLM  OF  THE  HERMITAGE.  ST. 


RKM BRANDT 


THE  STORY  OF 
DUTCH  PAINTING 


BY 

CHARLES  H.  CAFFIN 

author  of 
"how  to  study  pictures,"  etc. 


NEW  YORK 

THE  CENTURY  CO. 

1911 


I  ' 


C3 


Copyright,  1J)09,  by 
The  Century  Co. 

Published  November,  1909 


THE  OE  VINNE  PRESS 


TO  THE  PRESENT  AND  FUTURE  ART 

OF  THE  NEW  REPUBLIC  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA 

THIS  STORY  OF  THE  ART  OF  THE  OLD  DUTCH  REPUBLIC 

IS  DEDICATED  BY  THE  AUTHOR 


New  York,  November,  1909 


241668 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  PAGE 

I  The  End  of  the  Old 3 


n  The  Old  Order  Changes 19 

in  Beginning  of  the  New 35 

IV  Frans  Hals 49 

V  Rembrandt  Harmensz  van  Run 71 

VI  The  Influence  of  Hals  and  Rembrandt   ....     96 

vii  Dutch  Genre 107 

VIII  Gerard  Terborch,  Jan  Vermeer,  and  Jan  Steen     .  127 

IX  Biblical  Subjects  and  Portraiture 150 

X  Landscape 169 

XI  Van  Go  yen  and  Hobbema 187 

xn  Jacob  van  Ruisdael 193 

Index 201 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


Man  with  a  Fur  Cap    ....  Rembrandt  .      Frontispiece 

From  a  photograph  by  Braun,  Clement  &  Cie. 

FACING  PAGE 

Couple  Drinking Jan  Steen    ....       21 

From  a  photograph  by  Franz  Hanfstaengl. 

Portrait  of  the  Artist    .     .     .  Gerard  Terborch       .       28 

From  a  photograph  by  Franz  Hanfstaengl. 

Landscape  with  Fence      .     .     .  Jacob  van  Ruisdael    .       37 
Landscape  with  Oak     ....  Jan  van  Goyen     .     .       44 

From  a  photograph  by  Franz  Hanfstaengl. 

The  Jolly  Toper Frans  Hals       ...       54 

From  a  photograph  by  Franz  Hanfstaengl. 

Portrait  of  Nicolaes  van  der 

Meer Frans  Hals       ...       59 

Reunion  of  the  Officers  of  St. 

Andrew Frans  Hals       ...       67 

The  Syndics  of  the  Cloth 

Guild Rembrandt        ...       78 

From  a  photograph  by  Franz  Hanfstaengl. 

Sortie  of  the  Banning  Cock 

Company Rembrandt  ....       81 

From  a  photograph  by  Franz  Hanfstaengl. 

Portrait  of  Elizabeth  Bas    .     .  Rembrandt       ....  87 

From  a  photograph  by  Franz  Hanfstaengl. 

[ix] 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

PACING  PAOF 

Portrait   of   Hexdrickje   Stof- 

FELs Rembrandt        ...        90 

The  Supper  at  Emmaus      .      .      .  Rembrandt        ...        96 

From  a  photograph  by  Braun,  Clement  «c  Cie. 

Peasants  Round  a  Hearth    .      .  Adriaen  van  Ostade   .      110 

From  a  photograph  by  Franz  HanfstaenKl. 

Old  Woman  Spinning    ....  Xicolaes  Maes  .      .     .     114< 
Old  Woman  in  Meditation     .      .  Gabriel  Metsu  .      .      .     116 

From  a  photograph  by  Franz  Hanfstaengl. 

Lady  at  the  Clavichord    .      .      .  Caspar  Netscher  .      .      125 


The  Despatch Gerard  Terborch  .      .      127 

From  a  photograph  by  Franz  Ilanfstaengl. 

Officer  Writing  a  Letter     .      .   Gerard  Terborch  .      .      129 
Girl  at  the  Window     ....  Johannes(Jan)Vermeer  IS2 

Head  of  a  Girl Johannes{Jan)Vermeer  135 

The  Cook Johannes ( Jan) Vermeer  138 

The  Artist  in  His  Studio  .      .     .  Johannes(Jan)Vermeer  141 

From  a  photograph  by  Franz  Hanfataonpl. 

The  Inn Jan  Stcen    ....     144 


Portrait  of  Paul  Potter       .      .J    Bartholomeus  van    | 

^  der  Heist  I      '''^ 


From  a  photograph  by  Franz  Hanfstaengl. 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

FACINO  PAOB 

lMily  of  Admiral  Pleter 

PiETERsz Thomas  de  Keyscr     .     166 

From  a  photograph  by  Franz  Hanfstaengl. 

IE  Young  Buel Paul  Potter      .     .     .     179 

IE  Avenue,  Middelharnis, 

Holland        Meindert  Hohhema    .     190 

sw  of  Haarlem Jacob  van  Ruisdael    .      193 

From  a  photograph  by  Franz  Hanfstaengl. 

K-wooD Jacob  van  Ruisdael    .     194 


[E  Mill  near  Wyk-By- 

Duurstede Jacob  van  Ruisdael    .      199 

From  a  photograph  by  Franz  Hanfstaengl. 

[E  Jewish  Cemetery  ....  Jacob  van  Ruisdael   .     WO 


Cxi: 


THE  STORY  | 

OF  DUTCH  PAINTING  J 


THE  STORY 
OF  DUTCH  PAINTING 


CHAPTER  I 

THE  END  OF  THE  OLD  ' 

ON  the  25th  of  October,  1555,  Charles  V  abdi- 
I  cated  the  imperial  crown,  ceding  Spain  and  the 
Netherlands  to  his  favorite  son,  Philip  II.  The 
;vent  proved  to  be  the  prologue  of  a  drama,  which  in 
ts  immediate  aspects  involved  the  decay  of  Spain  and 
he  growth  of  Holland,  but  in  its  wider  significance  was 
o  be  the  beginning  of  a  new  era. 

For  the  modern  world  dates  from  the  seventeenth  cen- 
ury,  and  its  pioneers  were  the  Hollanders  of  that  period. 
Practically  everything  that  we  recognize  to-day  as  char- 
Lcteristic  of  the  modern  spirit  in  politics,  religion,  sci- 
ince,  society,  industry,  commerce,  and  art  has  its 
prototype  amid  that  sturdy  people;  being  either  the 
lause  or  the  product  of  their  struggle  for  independence 
md  their  self-development.  Nor,  in  paying  honor  to  the 
Dutch,  need  we  attempt  to  suggest  that  they  were  the 
nventors  of  these  characteristics.  Most  of  the  latter 
v^ere,  so  to  say,  in  the  air.    In  the  progress  of  things  they 


THE  STORY  OF  DUTCH  PAINTING 

had  been  evolved.  But  our  debt  to  the  Hollanders  is 
that  they  attracted  them  and  gave  them  practical  appli- 
cation, and  thus  set  the  world  upon  a  definite  path  of 
new  progress.  It  is  particularly  with  the  newness  of 
their  art  that  we  are  here  concerned,  but  we  will  try  to 
study  it  in  its  relation  to  the  material  and  mental  en- 
vironment of  the  nation  itself,  of  whose  newness  it  was 
so  immediate  a  product  and  so  manifest  an  expression. 

For  it  is  in  this  way  that  the  art  of  every  country  may 
be  studied  with  most  interest  and  profit.  Although  there 
will  appear  from  time  to  time  certain  individual  artists, 
whose  genius  cannot  be  satisfactorily  correlated  to  its 
environment,  but  will  indeed,  as  in  the  case  of  Rem- 
brandt's, seem  to  be  actually  contradictory  to  it,  yet  even 
they  can  be  more  fully  comprehended  through  the  very 
contrast  that  they  offer  to  the  mass  of  their  contempo- 
raries, whose  relation  to  their  environment  is  readily 
discernible.  Apropos  of  this  customary  connection  be- 
tween the  artist  and  the  spirit  of  his  time,  may  be  quoted 
that  phrase  of  Richard  Wagner's,  that  all  great  art  is 
produced  in  response  to  a  common  and  collective  need 
on  the  part  of  the  community.  It  may  serve  as  an  ex- 
cellent touchstone  for  testing  the  quahty  of  this  new 
Dutch  art  which  we  are  to  study,  so  let  us  for  a  moment 
examine  its  face  value,  leaving  the  fuller  application  of 
its  meaning  to  all  the  subsequent  pages  of  this  book. 

In  Wagner's  mind  great  art,  as  he  conceived  it,  stood 
out  in  clear  contrast  against  a  background  of  less  art,  of 
art  which  is  produced  in  response  to  some  more  restricted 
impulse  than  that  of  a  conmion  and  collective  need  of  the 
people ;  for  example,  in  catering  to  the  whims  of  fashion. 

1*1 


THE  END  OF  THE  OLD 

luch  was  the  major  part  of  the  art  of  France  produced 
1  the  last  days  before  the  Revolution.  The  great  mass 
f  the  people  were  too  abased  by  ill  rule  and  exactions  to 
ave  any  consciousness  but  that  of  hunger,  any  common 
oUective  need  but  to  fill  their  bellies.  The  only  articu- 
ite  demand  to  reach  the  artists  was  from  the  ephemeral 
w'arm  of  courtiers,  sycophants,  and,  as  we  should  say 
D-day,  "grafters,"  who  buzzed  in  splendor  and  profli- 
acy  at  court.  For  a  moment  the  glamour  of  this  life  in- 
pired  a  great  artist,  Watteau,  who,  however,  it  is  to  be 
oted,  was  a  foreigner.  What  he  himself  was  he  owed  to 
•"landers.  To  him  the  glamour  of  the  French  court  was 
ut  a  pageant,  a  spectacle  passing  before  his  eyes,  leav- 
ig  his  heart  and  conscience  untouched.  When,  however, 
rtists  of  French  birth,  reared  in  the  home  environment, 
ollowed  in  his  steps,  they  revealed  nothing  of  Watteau's 
iealistic  detachment  from  the  grossness  of  the  theme, 
ut  became  purveyors  to  the  shallow  profligacy  of  their 
latrons.  And  to  this  day  Van  Loo,  Boucher,  and  Fra- 
:onard  have  no  place  with  other  old  masters  in  the  hearts 
f  the  people ;  they  are  still  the  favorites  of  fashion.  Nor 
ras  it  until  the  upheaval  of  the  Revolution  had  precipi- 
ated  the  gathering  consciousness  of  a  common  and  col- 
ictive  need  on  the  part  of  the  people,  that  French  art  in 
he  nineteenth  century  began  to  develop  a  vital  response, 
loreover,  what  was  characteristic  of  French  art  during 
he  eighteenth  century  was  generally  symptomatic  of  the 
rt  of  the  whole  of  Europe.  The  latter  had  little  or  no 
reative  force,  was  essentially  an  art  of  more  or  less 
eeble  and  perfunctory  imitation.  For  the  age  itself  was 
lOn-creative;  a  period  of  exhaustion  after  the  strenuous- 


THE  STORY  OF  DUTCH  PAINTING 

ness  of  the  seventeenth  centuiy,  or  of  the  slow  forming 
of  new  ahnements  after  the  shattering  of  the  old  ones ;  of 
speculation  and  doubts  rather  than  of  convictions. 

So  the  artists,  feeling  no  spur  in  the  needs  of  the  mo- 
ment, fell  to  imitating  the  Renaissance  artists  of  Italy. 
Among  them,  if  we  may  anticipate  the  end  of  our  pres- 
ent story,  were  the  Dutch.  They,  too,  had  exhausted  the 
inmiediate  impulse  of  their  own  environment.  War  had 
made  them  a  world-power,  and  peace  brought  them  the 
foreign  entanglements  that  maintenance  of  such  a  posi- 
tion entailed.  They  were  no  longer  under  the  com- 
pulsion of  an  immense  centripetal  energy,  a  nation 
concentrated  upon  its  own  self-reliance.  They  began  to 
spread  themselves  as  cosmopolitans,  aping  the  fashions 
of  the  rest  of  the  world ;  and,  as  the  fashion  of  the  period 
was  to  be  Italianate,  so  the  artists  of  Holland,  lacking 
at  home  the  momentum  of  a  common  and  collective  need, 
ceased  to  be  a  school  of  great  original  painters,  and  be- 
came instead  clumsy  imitators  of  the  splendors  and 
[ ^elevation  of  the  Italian  masters   of  the   Renaissance. 

After  this  glance  at  the  nature  and  cause  of  decline 
of  Dutch  art  in  the  eighteenth  century,  we  may  return 
with  a  better  appreciation  of  what  is  ahead  of  us  in  our 
study — the  establishment  in  Holland  in  the  seventeenth 
century  of  a  new  art,  the  product  of  a  new  nation ;  of  a 
group  of  original  and  distinguished  painters  who 
formed,  as  Fromentin  says,  "the  last  of  the  great  schools, 
perhaps  the  most  original,  certainly  the  most  local." 

The  course  of  our  story,  therefore,  spreads  before  us. 
It  is  to  discover  in  what  respect  the  Dutch  School  of  the 
seventeenth  century  was  great,  how  it  was  original,  and 


THE  END  OF  THE  OLD 

in  what  way  its  genius  grew  out  of  and  responded  to  the 
common  and  collective  need  of  the  Dutch  people  of  the 
period.  Meanwhile  there  are  the  previous  fifty  years  of 
the  sixteenth  century  to  be  accounted  for,  which  brings 
as  back  to  the  prologue  of  the  drama,  the  abdication  of 
Charles  V. 

That  monarch,  born  in  Ghent  and  educated  in  Flan- 
iers,  had  a  special  feeling  of  regard  for  his  "dear  Nether- 
landers."  Incidentally,  they  were  the  richest  jewel  in 
the  imperial  crown,  and  he  had  drawn  from  them  an- 
nually two  fifths  of  the  enormous  revenue  that  he 
squandered  in  wars  of  ambition  elsewhere.  He  had, 
moreover,  proved  his  love  for  them  by  systematic 
slaughtering  of  dissenters,  that  the  remnant  might  be 
preserved  within  the  fold  of  the  Catholic  Church.  It 
was  Brussels,  therefore,  that  he  selected  as  the  scene  of 
his  abdication.  Formerly  the  capital  of  the  Dukes  of 
Burgundy,  it  had  been  under  imperial  rule  the  seat  of 
government  of  the  vice-regents  of  the  Netherlands;  a 
city  of  royal  and  princely  palaces,  immediately  sur- 
rounded by  parks  and  game-forests,  and  fields  and  gar- 
dens, teeming  with  opulence ;  the  royal  center  of  a  group 
of  cities.  Of  these  Antwerp  was  the  commercial  chief, 
the  greatest  emporiimi  of  trade  in  Europe,  with  an  ex- 
change in  which  five  thousand  merchants  daily  con- 
gregated, and  a  port  where  five  hundred  vessels  daily 
made  their  entrance  or  departure.  It  was  the  distrib- 
uting-point for  the  imports  from  the  East  and  for  the 
products  of  the  Netherlands :  textiles  of  most  sumptuous 
fabrics  as  well  as  of  plain  cloths  and  linens,  works  of 
gold  and  silver  craftsmanship,  agricultural  and  dairy 
£71 


THE  STORY  OF  DUTCH  PAINTING 

produce  from  the  rich  polders  of  the  northern  provinces, 
and  fish  from  a  hmidred  thriving  towns  and  villages 
along  the  coast. 

So  when  the  emperor,  enfeebled  by  excesses  of  action 
and  appetite,  felt  his  grip  of  power  slackening,  and  de- 
termined to  transfer  this  people  of  three  million  souls, 
the  most  industrious,  versatile,  and  liberty-loving  in  the 
world,  from  his  own  pocket  to  that  of  his  son,  he  saw  to 
it  that  the  procee'ding  should  be  conducted  with  a  pa- 
geantry of  ceremonial  worthy  of  the  occasion. 
•  It  was  enacted  in  the  hall  of  the  renowned  Order  of 
the  Knights  of  the  Golden  Fleece,  the  walls  of  which 
were  hung  with  superb  tapestries  from  the  looms  of 
Arras,  representing  the  Biblical  story  of  Gideon.  The 
floor  was  occupied  by  official  representatives  of  the  prov- 
inces, clad  in  the  sumptuous  bravery  of  costume  that 
distinguished  this  country  and  the  times.  Upon  the  dais 
at  one  end,  beneath  a  splendid  canopy,  three  chairs 
awaited  the  principals  in  the  drama.  Precisely  at  the 
stroke  of  three,  the  emperor  entered  from  the  adjoining 
chapel.  Strange  whim  of  Fate,  he  supported  his  gout- 
ridden  body  by  leaning  on  the  arm  of  the  man  who  was 
eventually  to  be  chief  in  undoing  the  policy  that  this 
day  inaugurated— William,  Count  of  Orange.  Behind 
the  emperor  came  Philip,  and  the  regent.  Queen  Mary 
of  Hungary,  the  "Christian  widow"  admired  by  Eras- 
mus, who  on  one  occasion  had  written  to  her  brother,  the 
emperor,  that  "in  her  opinion  all  heretics,  whether  re- 
pentant or  not,  should  be  prosecuted  with  such  severity 
as  that  error  might  be  at  once  extinguished,  care  being 
only  taken  that  the  provinces  were  not  entirely  depopu- 

US] 


THE  END  OF  THE  OLD 

lated."  Following  the  principals,  appeared  the  Knights 
of  the  Fleece  in  full  regalia,  and  a  retinue  of  nobles, 
many  of  them,  Egmont,  Brederode,  Berlaymont,  Aer- 
schot,  and  others,  destined  to  figure  in  the  subsequent 
drama  of  the  Netherlands. 

After  a  long  oration  by  a  member  of  the  Privy  Coun- 
cil, depicting  the  bodily  infirmities  of  the  emperor,  his 
great  zeal  for  his  people's  welfare,  and  the  particulars 
of  the  cession  he  was  about  to  make,  Charles  himself 
read  a  long  recapitulation  of  his  wars  and  trimnj)hs, 
dwelt  upon  his  failing  strength,  and  commended  his  suc- 
cessor to  the  good  will  and  allegiance  of  his  "dear  Neth- 
erlanders."  At  the  conclusion  of  the  speech  the  whole 
audience  was  melted  to  tears  and  the  emperor  himself 
wept  like  a  child.  Philip  knelt  in  reverence,  as  his 
father  made  the  sign  of  the  cross  above  his  head  and 
blessed  him  in  the  name  of  the  Holy  Trinity.  Then, 
while  the  assembled  host  applauded  he  rose  to  his  feet, 
ruler  by  the  grace  of  God,  vice  the  emperor,  of  the 
Netherlands,  Spain,  and  her  American  possessions.  But 
he  could  not  speak  the  language  of  the  Netherlands ;  his 
acceptance  of  their  allegiance  and  his  own  promises  of 
regard  for  their  interests  had  to  be  made  through  an 
interpreter. 

Philip,  as  he  assumed  possession  of  the  lives  of  mil- 
lions, is  characterized  by  Motley^  as  "a  small  meager 
man,  much  below  middle  height,  with  thin  legs,  a  narrow 
chest,  and  the  shrinking,  timid  air  of  an  habitual  invalid. 
In  face,  he  was  the  living  image  of  his  father,  having  the 

^  The  author's  indebtedness  to  Motley  in  this  chapter,  as  in  subsequent  ones, 
should  not  escape  the  reader's  notice. 

1^1 


THE  STORY  OF  DUTCH  PAINTING 

same  broad  forehead  and  blue  eye,  with  the  same 
aquihne,  but  better-proportioned,  nose.  He  had  the 
same  heavy  hanging  Hp,  with  a  vast  mouth  and  mon- 
strously protruding  lower  jaw.  His  complexion  was 
fair,  his  hair  light  and  thin,  his  beard  yellow,  short,  and 
pointed.  He  had  the  aspect  of  a  Fleming,  but  the  lofti- 
ness of  a  Spaniard.  His  demeanor  in  public  was  still, 
silent,  almost  sepulchral.  He  looked  habitually  on  the 
ground  when  he  conversed,  was  chary  of  speech,  embar- 
rassed and  even  suffering  in  manner.  This  was  ascribed 
partly  to  a  natural  haughtiness  which  he  had  occasionally 
endeavored  to  overcome,  and  partly  to  habitual  pains  in 
the  stomach,  occasioned  by  his  inordinate  fondness  for 
pastry.  Such,"  adds  Motley,  "was  the  personal  appear- 
ance of  the  man  who  was  to  receive  into  his  single  hand 
the  destinies  of  half  the  world ;  whose  single  will  was,  for 
the  future,  to  shape  the  fortunes  of  every  individual  then 
present,  of  manj^  more  in  Europe,  America,  and  at  the 
ends  of  the  earth,  and  of  countless  millions  yet  unborn." 
Yet  it  may  be  doubted  whether  in  the  assembly  pres- 
ent on  that  memorable  occasion  there  was  a  single  person 
who  even  dimly  perceived  the  enormity  of  this  idea.  That 
a  nation,  without  being  consulted,  should  be  transferred 
like  a  herd  of  cattle  from  one  owner  to  another,  for  his 
own  use  and  emolument  and  even  to  be  slaughtered  at 
his  will,  probably  seemed  a  natural  and  right  proceeding. 
The  fact  emphasizes  the  immense  and  profound  change 
that  during  the  ensuing  fifty  years  was  to  take  possession 
of  men's  imagination.  The  seventeenth  century  was  to 
see  a  new  idea  of  the  rights  of  nations  and  of  the  rela- 
tions that  should  govern  a  people  and  its  rulers ;  the  com- 


THE  END  OF  THE  OLD 

mencement,  in  fact,  of  a  new  era  of  thought  in  its  bear- 
ing on  life.  But  as  yet  the  minds  of  all  engaged  in  the 
ceremony  were  possessed  with  the  old  thought,  the  brute 
survival  of  Roman  imperialism  and  of  the  medieval  con- 
flict of  rival  autocrats;  the  claim  of  a  pope  to  exercise 
supreme  sway  over  the  consciences  of  innumerable  mil- 
lions, and  the  contention  of  temporal  potentates  for 
absolute  control  over  the  souls  and  bodies  of  their  sub- 
jects. Thought  and  life  had  been,  and  still  were,  based 
upon  the  supremacy  of  the  favored  individual. 

Let  us  note  the  effect  which  this  idea  had  had  upon  the 
art  of  painting,  that  we  may  better  appreciate  the  change 
which  is  to  come  over  the  latter,  as  the  new  idea  begins  to 
penetrate  life  and  thought.  How  did  painting,  notably 
the  fullest  expression  of  it  in  Italian  art,  respond  to  the 
common  and  collective  need  of  men's  lives  and  thoughts? 
In  what  way  did  it  embody  the  idea  of  the  propriety  and 
desirableness  of  the  subordination  of  all  to  the  will  of 
one  individual? 

In  the  first  place,  the  idea  was  fostered  by  the  Church. 
This  is  no  place  to  attempt  to  discuss,  on  the  one  hand, 
how  far  the  Church  in  upholding  this  doctrine  was  ac- 
tuated b}'-  the  desire  of  saving  souls  or,  on  the  other  hand, 
to  what  degree  it  benefited  the  world.  It  is  sufficient  to 
recall  what  an  immense  hold  the  Church  had  over  the 
lives  and  thoughts  of  men,  and  that  to  establish  and 
maintain  it  she  employed  painting  as  a  handmaiden. 
Thus,  in  response  to  the  common  and  collective  need  of 
the  people,  the  favored  subjects  of  painting  were  the  doc- 
trines and  story  of  the  Christian  faith.  The  interiors  of 
churches  were  converted  into  vast  picture-books  for  the 

C"3 


THE  STORY  OF  DUTCH  PAINTING 

edification  of  the  people,  as  well  as  into  sumptuous 
shrines  for  the  celebration  of  the  mystic  drama  of  the 
Mass.  And,  corresponding  to  the  stately  ceremonial  of 
the  latter,  its  superb  accompaniments  of  lights  and  vest- 
ments, and  its  imposing  spectacle  of  ordered  ritual,  the 
altarpieces  grew  to  be  miracles  of  stately  composition; 
arrangements  of  form  and  color,  light  and  shade,  built 
up  with  an  artifice  as  imposing  and  moving  in  its  effects 
as  that  which  had  elaborated  the  Mass  itself.  So  closely 
is  the  genius  of  these  paintings  a  product  of  the  Catholic 
Church's  particular  mode  of  emphasizing  its  faith  that  it 
is  evident,  when  men  shall  separate  themselves  from  such 
exposition  of  the  faith,  their  common  and  collective  need 
will  not  demand  pictures  of  this  character.  This  will  be 
exemplified  in  th'e  case  of  the  Dutch.  They  will  need 
religious  pictures,  but  neither  of  a  ceremonial  character, 
nor,  in  view  of  their  idea  of  worshiping  in  spirit  and  in 
temples  not  made  with  hands,  for  the  purposes  of  dec- 
orating their  houses  of  God.  Their  religious  pictures 
will  be  of  a  kind  to  affect  the  thoughts  and  lives  of  the 
people  in  a  simpler  and  more  unpretentious  way,  perhaps 
more  intimately  and  personally. 

But,  while  the  splendor  and  dignity  of  the  Italian 
religious  pictures  were  inspired  by  the  religious  fervor 
that  had  continued  from  medieval  times,  they  also  re- 
flected the  new  impulse  which  had  made  possible  the 
Renaissance:  the  New  Learning,  the  study  of  the  clas- 
sics, particularly  of  Hellenic  culture,  preeminently  of 
Plato.  From  the  latter,  scholars  and  artists  alike  had 
learned  to  think  in  terms  of  the  abstract.  To  the  artists 
had  been  revealed  the  abstract  idea  of  beauty— of  beauty 

D23 


THE  END  OF  THE  OLD 

as  at  once  the  symbol  and  the  expression  of  the  highest 
good  in  life  and  thought.  They  were  no  longer  satis- 
fied simply  to  represent  the  sacred  story  and  doctrines; 
they  would  have  their  pictures  beautiful,  independently 
of  the  subject;  they  would  give  the  subject  itself  a  higher 
significance  through  the  abstract  beauty  of  the  composi- 
tions in  which  it  was  embodied.  Hence  the  principles  of 
technical  distinction  that  began  to  sublimate  their  pic- 
tures, until  they  reached  a  degree  of  abstract  as  well  as 
material  elevation  that  has  never  been,  and,  one  imagines, 
will  never  be  surpassed.  For  it  was  the  offspring  of  two 
motives  that  may  never  again  be  found  in  wedlock — the 
religious  need  and  the  need  of  expressing  the  enthusiasm 
for  the  cult  of  the  classics.  The  former  may  still  be 
operative,  but  the  latter  has  been  dissipated  in  the  spread 
of  the  democratic  idea. 

And  what  was  the  principle  upon  which  was  based  the 
classic  ideal  of  abstract  beauty,  as  it  expressed  itself  in 
Italian  painting?  It  was  the  supreme  motive  of  the 
human  form,  as  being,  in  its  harmony  of  proportions  and 
its  rh}i;hm  of  movement,  the  symbol  and  expression  of 
abstract  beauty.  Again  it  happened  that  the  teaching 
of  the  Church  conjoined  with  the  speculations  of  scholars. 
This  world  was  thought  to  be  the  center  of  the  universe ; 
man  was  the  axis  of  the  world.  Even  God  was  inter- 
preted as  concerned  chiefly  in  the  rewarding  or  punish- 
ment of  man,  while  to  man  all  other  created  things  were 
subordinate.  To  the  imagination  of  the  Renaissance,  as 
of  the  Middle  Ages,  man  towered  up  supreme  against 
the  mere  background  of  the  universe.  Small  wonder  if 
some  men,  seizing  the  logic  of  this,  aspired  to  be  the 

C13: 


THE  STORY  OF  DUTCH  PAINTING 

owners  of  the  bodies  and  souls  of  their  fellows,  and 
scarcely  less  that  the  others  acquiesced !  It  was  a  role  not 
only  for  popes,  emperors,  and  kings  to  play  upon  the 
stage  of  the  world,  but  for  every  princeling  and  duke  to 
strut  through  on  some  smaller  platform  of  a  munici- 
pality. It  justified  the  Medici  in  their  own  eyes,  and 
made  them  almost  of  necessity  the  patrons  of  artists 
who  had  accepted  the  supremacy  of  such  as  they  for  the 
leading  motive  of  their  art.  The  painters,  in  fact,  ac- 
cepting the  exclusive  aristocracy  of  the  human  figure, 
adopting  as  their  prime  motive  its  ideal  perfection,  and 
building  up  compositions  in  which  the  figures  were  ar- 
ranged in  conformity  with  the  rhythms  and  proportions 
derived  from  such  ideal  perfection,  necessarily  achieved 
an  art  that  was  essentially  aristocratic,  fitted  for  the 
temples  of  an  aristocratic  church  and  the  palaces  of  the 
lay  aristocracy.  Yet,  to  repeat,  it  was  also  inspired  by 
a  great  religious  need,  so  that  it  was  fitted  for  the  masses 
as  well  as  for  their  rulers. 

Such  was  the  great  art  of  the  world  at  the  period  when 
Charles  V  abdicated.  Yet  even  by  1555  the  tide  has 
begun  to  ebb.  Of  all  the  great  Florentines  Michelangelo 
alone  remains,  and  he  has  ceased  from  painting  and 
sculpture.  The  giant  brood  survives  only  in  the  persons 
of  Titian,  Paolo  Veronese,  and  Tintoretto.  The  last 
named  will  live  out  nearly  the  remainder  of  the  century, 
after  which  the  art  of  Italy  will  be  in  the  hands  of  "man- 
nerists" and  "eclectics,"  groups  whose  very  names  sug- 
gest that  they  are  but  fanning  a  flame  already  dead. 
Only  the  "naturalists"  will  have  something  in  them  of 
the  modern  spirit. 


THE  END  OF  THE  OLD 

Meanwhile  among  the  painters  of  the  Netherlands 
here  is  as  yet  little  or  nothing  of  the  distinction  that 
rill  grow  between  Hollander  and  Flemish.  The  prin- 
ipal  seat  of  painting  is  Antwerp,  and  its  school  has 
Iready  been  Italianized.  Even  Lucas  van  Leyden,  the 
>ersonal  friend  of  Diirer,  and  at  first  an  original  genius 
nclined  toward  Gothic  feeling,  had  before  his  death  in 
533  gone  over  to  Italian  influence.  Admirably  represen- 
ative  of  this  influence  is  the  large  triptych  by  Barend 
an  Orley,  now  in  the  Antwerp  Museum.  Its  central 
)anel  shows  The  Day  of  Judgment.  In  the  vault  of  the 
ky  Christ  appears,  enthroned  upon  a  rainbow,  his  feet 
esting  on  a  globe.  He  is  encircled  by  clouds,  below 
diich  a  ring  of  angels  supports  a  cross,  while  to  the 
ight  and  left  are  seraphs  sounding  their  trumps,  and 
.11  the  distant  air  is  aquiver  with  angelic  forms.  Hover- 
ng  midway  between  earth  and  sky  is  St.  Michael,  the 
.rchangel.  Down  on  the  earth  are  the  myriads  of  the 
isen:  the  good  on  one  side,  in  orderly  bands,  lifting 
lands  and  heads  toward  heaven,  and  on  the  other  the  lost 
ouls  m  a  tumult  of  flames  and  smoke.  In  the  side  pan- 
Is  the  works  of  mercy  are  represented ;  grave  personages 
ninistering  to  the  sick  and  the  halt  and  the  blind  and  the 
lying,  in  a  spot  dignified  by  monumental  architecture, 
.hove  which,  seated  on  clouds,  are  ranged  the  Madonna 
md  the  saints.  The  superb  composition,  unquestionably 
uggested  by  that  of  the  Disputd,  is  one  which  Raphael 
limself  need  not  have  been  ashamed  to  design.  But  the 
igures  that  appear  large  in  the  foreground  exhibit  a 
ealism  of  nudity  and  an  individuality  of  separate  char- 
LCterization  that  bespeak  the  artist's  Flemish  origin. 

CIS] 


THE  STORY  OF  DUTCH  PAINTING 

Notwithstanding  his  Itahan  training  he  had  still  retained 
his  racial  instincts  for  naturalism.  But  this  fine  work 
was  finished  in  1525,  and  the  artist  died  in  1542. 

At  the  date  we  have  selected  as  our  starting-point,  the 
leading  artists  were  Jan  van  Scovel,  Antonio  JNIoro,  and 
Pieter  Pourbus;  the  last  of  Flemish  birth,  the  others 
born  in  the  northern  provinces.  Though  Pourbus  es- 
sayed religious  subjects,  the  finest  examples  of  which  are 
in  Bruges,  he  is  best  known  as  a  portrait-painter,  in 
which  branch  Moro  also  excelled.  The  latter,  after 
studying  under  Scovel,  visited  Italy,  and  upon  his  return 
was  recommended  to  Charles  V,  who  despatched  him  to 
Madrid  and  Portugal,  and  later  to  England  to  make  a 
portrait  of  Queen  jMary,  the  wife  of  Philip  II.  Subse- 
quently he  was  in  the  latter's  service  in  Spain,  but  re- 
turned to  Brussels,  where  he  found  a  patron  in  the  Duke 
of  Alva.  His  portraits  are  distinguished  by  evidence  of 
truth  to  life  as  well  as  by  their  masterly,  if  somewhat 
careful,  handling.  But  it  was  Scovel  himself  whose  life 
best  illustrated  the  tendencies  of  the  time. 

Born  in  Alkmaar  in  1495,  he  studied  in  Haarlem,  Am- 
sterdam, and  Utrecht;  then  in  Cologne,  Speyer,  Stras- 
burg,  Carinthia,  and  Venice,  from  which  last  he  went  to 
Jerusalem.  Returning  to  Europe,  he  lived  for  a  while 
in  Rome,  where  he  was  appointed  superintendent  of  the 
Vatican  Gallery  by  his  countryman,  Pope  Adrian  IV. 
On  the  latter's  death  he  returned  to  the  Netherlands,  liv- 
ing by  turns  in  Utrecht  and  Haarlem,  in  one  of  which 
cities  he  died  in  1562.  Greatly  influenced  by  his  sojourn 
in  Rome,  he  was  the  first  of  the  strictly  Dutch  painters 
to  absorb  the  Italian  influence.  Among  several  exam- 
[16] 


THE  END  OF  THE  OLD 

pies  of  his  style  in  the  Municipal  Museum  of  Haarlem 
the  most  remarkable  is  a  portrait  group  of  twelve 
Knights  Templars,  with  palm  branches  in  their  hands, 
indicating  that  they  have  made  the  pilgrimage  to  Jeru- 
salem. It  is  noteworthy  both  for  its  characterization 
and  as  an  early  instance  of  what  was  to  be  a  special 
feature  of  Dutch  art — the  portrait  group.  His  subject 
pictures,  mostly  on  religious  themes,  have  the  elegant, 
non-committal  character  of  work  that  was  inspired  by 
outside  impulse,  though  possibly  in  the  landscape  back- 
grounds one  may  find  a  foretaste  of  the  Dutch  regard  for 
truth  of  natural  surroundings.  His  work,  indeed,  like 
his  life,  exemplifies  the  lack  of  originality  and  conviction 
in  tlje  temper  of  the  times.  It  was  a  period  of  suspense, 
succeeding  to  the  vigorous  realities  of  old  ideals,  scarcely 
ready  for  the  development  of  the  new.  It  was  a  prologue 
to  a  new  era. 

The  new  art,  when  it  arrives,  will  be  in  response  to  a 
new  common  and  collective  need  of  a  people,  the  prod- 
uct, in  fact,  of  a  new  attitude  of  thought  toward  life. 
In  place  of  the  aristocratic  it  will  be  democratic,  con- 
cerned with  the  rights  of  all  instead  of  the  privileges  of 
the  few.  It  will  no  longer  set  man  in  a  pose  of  artificial 
supremacy  against  the  background  of  the  universe,  but 
will  begin  to  take  account  of  his  environment  and  to  dis- 
cover his  true  relation  to  it.  It  will  be  an  era,  not  of 
magnificent  mendacity  and  superb  hypotheses,  but  of 
patient  inquiry  into  the  facts  of  life  and  of  resolute  ad- 
justment of  life  to  the  facts.  It  will,  indeed,  be  the 
dawning  of  the  scientific  era.  And  so  firmly  will  it 
have  taken  hold  of  the  thought  and  life  of  the  then  sepa- 

en] 


THE  STORY  OF  DUTCH  PAINTING 

rated  provinces  of  the  north,  that,  even  as  they  have 
parted  absolutely  from  the  old  religion  and  politics, 
stiU  adhered  to  by  the  southern  states,  so  they  will  be 
impervious  to  the  influence  of  the  art  by  which  the  latter 
continue  to  be  represented.  When,  fifty  years  from  our 
opening  date,  Rubens  shall  return  from  Italy  to  give  a 
brief  lease  of  lustier  life  to  the  Italian  motive  by  the 
vigor  of  his  Flemish  genius,  the  Hollanders  of  the  seven- 
teenth century  will  be  absolutely  unaffected  by  his  in- 
fluence. Their  art  will  be  as  closed  to  the  invasion  of  his 
masterful  genius  as  their  country  is  to  the  inroads  of  the 
German  Ocean.  Theirs  will  be  an  art  not  only  new  and 
original,  but  certainly  most  local. 


nis] 


CHAPTER  II 

THE  OLD  ORDER  CHANGES 

THE  forty-five  years,  following  the  abdication  of 
Charles  V,  yielded  no  indication  of  the  harvest  of 
painting  that  was  to  signalize  the  succeeding 
century.  The  earlier  half  of  the  period  embraces  the 
work  of  Pieter  Aertz,  first  of  the  distinctively  Dutch 
genre  painters,  and  the  latter  half  sees  the  growth  to 
manhood  of  the  portrait-painters  Michiel  Jansz  van 
Mierevelt  and  Jan  Anthonisz  van  Ravesteyn,  while  the 
whole  period  covers  the  active  life  of  Jan  de  Bray.  He, 
like  the  other  two,  was  an  honest  but  entirely  uninspired 
portrait-painter;  and  it  was  not  until  nearly  the  end  of 
the  century  that  three  men  were  born  who  were  subse- 
quently to  become  notable.  These  are  Frans  Hals,  Jan 
van  Goyen,  and  another  landscape-painter,  less  well 
known,  Hercules  Seghers. 

It  was  a  period,  indeed,  solely  of  upheaval  and  prep- 
aration, during  which  the  ground  was  plowed,  har- 
rowed, and  fertilized,  while  its  old  landmarks  were  being 
removed,  new  boundaries  established,  and  a  new  proprie- 
torship asserted  and  exercised.  It  covered,  moreover, 
the  whole  of  Philip  the  Second's  miserable  reign. 

This  monarch,  tiring  of  the  atmosphere  of  the  Nether- 
lands, soon  withdrew  to  Spain,  whence  for  the  remainder 
of  his  fife  he  attempted  to  govern  the  distant  provinces 

CIO] 


THE  STORY  OF  DUTCH  PAINTING 

as  a  satrapy,  through  vice-regents,  mihtary  commanders, 
and  bishops.  His  aim,  as  became  his  father's  son,  was 
autocracy  over  the  hves,  fortunes,  and  consciences  of  his 
subjects.  But,  to  do  him  justice,  it  was  their  own  good, 
as  he  saw  it,  that  he  labored  and  intrigued  for :  to  purge 
them  of  heresy  and  retain  them  within  the  fold  of  the 
Roman  communion.  For  nothing  is  to  be  gained  in  the 
way  of  understanding  the  temper  and  conditions  of  that 
day  by  regarding  Philip  as  an  inhuman  monster. 
Judged  by  the  manner  of  our  own  time,  he  may  seem  to 
have  been;  but,  judged  by  the  tenacity  and  unscrupu- 
lousness  with  which  men  still  cling  to  what  they  believe 
to  be  their  rightful  privileges  and  pursue  what  they  are 
convinced  is  the  dictate  of  their  conscience,  he  is  seen  to 
be  but  a  natural  product  of  the  mental  and  social  con- 
ditions of  his  day.  He  was  a  recognizable  and  for  a  time 
even  tolerated  part  of  a  system  that  men  as  yet  had  not 
thought  of  disturbing. 

It  was  so,  at  first,  that  the  citizens  of  the  Netherlands, 
even  William,  Prince  of  Orange,  regarded  him;  They 
held  his  overlordship  sacred,  even  while  they  opposed 
the  acts  of  his  official  representatives.  They  expected  to 
be  roundly  taxed,  but  at  the  same  time  to  have  the  ma- 
chinery of  their  local  government  of  free  cities  and  Es- 
tates-General unimpeded;  and  it  was  against  the  inter- 
ference with  this  on  the  part  of  Philip's  mercenaries  that 
they  first  remonstrated.  For,  in  the  pursuance  of  his 
policy  of  riveting  Roman  Catholicism  upon  the  Nether- 
lands, Philip  had  induced  the  Pope  to  create  more  bish- 
ops and  archbishops,  to  uphold  whose  hands  in  the  extir- 
pating of  heresy  four  thousand  Spanish  troops  were  to 

1:203 


-'«Bt^ 

'i 

k 

^^m 

B^ 

COUPLE  DRINKING 


JAN  STEEN 


RIJKS  MUSEUM.  AMSTERDAM 


THE  OLD  ORDER  CHANGES 

be  retained  in  the  country  at  the  expense  of  the  Estates. 
The  latter  and  the  cities  remonstrated,  and  the  troops 
were  witMrawn,  though  the  Inquisition  continued  its 
fell  work.  So  matters  drifted  until  1566,  a  memorable 
year  in  the  story  of  the  rise  and  growth  of  Holland. 

The  Flemish  nobles,  though  Roman  Catholic  to  a 
man,  drew  up  a  "Compromise"  and  pledged  themselves 
to  resist  the  Inquisition.  William  of  Orange,  also  a 
Catholic,  though  he  had  married  a  Protestant  princess, 
Anna  of  Saxony,  and  would  later  change  his  profession 
of  faith,  instituted  a  secret  system  of  espionage  in 
Madrid  over  the  acts  and  counsels  of  Philip.  Then  the 
League  of  Nobles,  Orange  assisting  in  the  wording  of  the 
document,  presented  a  "Request"  to  the  vice-regent, 
praying  that  the  edicts  against  heresy  and  the  Inquisi- 
tion might  be  withdrawn  and  the  management  of  affairs 
restored  to  the  Estates-General.  Its  presentation  drew 
from  one  of  the  vice-regent's  counselors,  Berlaymont, 
the  expression:  "Is  it  possible  that  your  Highness  can 
be  afraid  of  these  beggars?" 

Three  days  later  the  dissentient  nobles  were  enter- 
tained at  a  feast  by  Brederode.  When  the  enthusiasm 
was  at  its  height,  and  the  guests  were  debating  on  a 
name  and  a  watchword,  the  host  let  drop  among  them 
Berlaymont's  contemptuous  phrase.  At  the  same  mo- 
ment he  produced  a  beggar's  wallet  and  bowl;  and, 
slinging  the  one  over  his  shoulder  and  filling  the  other 
with  wine,  called  upon  all  present  to  drink  to  the  Beg- 
gars. The  word  was  caught  up,  and  from  man  to  man 
the  wallet  and  bowl  were  passed  round,  until  all  had  en- 
rolled themselves  in  the  Beggars'  ranks.     Then,  at  the 

1:21] 


THE  STORY  OF  DUTCH  PAINTING 

height  of  the  excitement,  the  counts  Orange,  Horn,  and 
Egmont  entered  the  room.  They  were  compelled  to 
drink  to  the  pledge  and,  although  they  immediately  re- 
tired, were  henceforth  marked  for  Philip's  special  revenge. 
Later  in  the  same  year  the  "Image-breaking"  oc- 
curred in  Antwerp.  It  was  unpremeditated  and  in  its 
occurrence  unguided:  the  spontaneous  explosion  of  la- 
tent passions  smoldering  in  the  mob ;  the  spark  that  kin- 
dled it,  the  annual  procession  and  parade  of  the  image 
of  the  Virgin.  Scoffs  and  ribaldry  were  succeeded  by 
horse-play,  which  involved  a  rough-and-tumble  fight 
among  some  of  the  mob  that  filled  the  cathedral.  The 
excitement  grew.  The  mob,  surging  in  and  out  of  the 
building,  began  to  mock  an  old  woman  who  sold  images 
of  the  Virgin  at  the  cathedral  door.  She  retaliated  in 
kind,  and  from  the  bandying  of  words  the  mob  and  their 
victim  proceeded  to  the  hurling  of  missiles.  A  riot  was 
averted  for  the  moment  by  the  arrival  of  the  margrave 
and  senators ;  but,  when  evening  came,  the  cathedral  was 
still  occupied  by  a  mob,  now  bent  on  mischief.  The  image 
of  the  Virgin  was  the  first  object  of  its  fury,  which,  how- 
ever, soon  spread  to  a  wholesale  wrecking  and  desecra- 
tion. The  sacred  vessels,  the  glory  of  stained  glass, 
and  the  intricate  beauty  of  carved  v/ork — every  object 
of  beauty  that  had  made  this  one  of  the  richest  shrines 
of  religious  art  in  Christendom — were  irretrievably  de- 
stroyed. The  blind,  unreasoning  fury,  thus  aroused, 
spread  to  other  cities.  Philip  retaliated  with  another 
fury,  coldly  and  calculatingly  horrible.  Alva  was  de- 
spatched with  ten  thousand  troops,  and  the  so-called 
Spanish  Fury  was  inaugurated. 
[22] 


THE  OLD  ORDER  CHANGES 

Its  first  victims  were  the  counts  Horn  and  Egmont, 
William  of  Orange  escaping  into  exile.  A  Council  of 
Troubles,  or,  as  the  Netherlanders  called  it,  of  Blood,  was 
established,  and  in  the  six  years  of  Alva's  stay  eighteen 
thousand  six  hundred  persons  were  put  to  death.  These 
were  irrespective  of  those  who  fell  in  armed  resistance. 
For  in  1572  the  Beggars  of  the  sea  took  Brill,  and  a  little 
later  drove  the  Spanish  garrison  out  of  Flushing.  It 
Mas  the  signal  for  revolt.  Nearly  all  the  cities  of  Hol- 
land and  Zeeland  declared  for  William  of  Orange,  and, 
in  an  assembly  of  the  Estates  at  Dort,  voted  funds  for  a 
war,  directed,  however,  even  then,  not  against  the  sover- 
eignty of  Philip,  but  to  the  expulsion  of  his  soldiery. 
The  fortunes  of  the  patriots  were  checkered  with  more 
defeats  than  victories,  but  meanwhile  the  Spanish  opera- 
tions were  impeded  by  lack  of  money ;  the  troops  depend- 
ing upon  the  pillage  of  an  impoverished  country  and  the 
occasional  sack  of  a  city,  while  the  treasure-ships  of 
Spain  were  being  intercepted  and  her  commerce  con- 
tinually harassed  by  the  Beggars  of  the  sea.  So  Philip 
sparred  for  breath,  and  through  his  vice-regent  agreed 
to  the  withdrawal  of  his  troops,  a  treaty  to  this  effect 
being  signed  at  Brussels  in  1577. 

William,  however,  was  too  convinced  of  the  duplicity 
of  Philip  to  be  a  party  to  the  treaty,  and  persuaded  the 
northern  provinces  to  refuse  their  assent.  The  struggle 
was  continued,  punctuated  by  the  Union  of  Utrecht,  in 
which  the  Estates  agreed  upon  a  Dutch  republic;  by 
Philip's  rejoinder  in  the  shape  of  a  ban  declared  against 
the  life  of  Orange,  with  a  price  of  twenty -five  thousand 
golden  crowns  upon  his  head ;  and  by  the  counter-move- 

1:233 


THE  STORY  OF  DUTCH  PAINTING 

ment  of  the  patriots.  This  was  the  declaration  of  Dutch 
independence,  formally  issued  at  The  Hague  on  the  26th 
of  July,  1581. 

To  ideas  that  had  been  slowly  but  steadily  accumu- 
lating under  the  pressure  of  dire  facts  a  formulation  had 
at  last  been  discovered  and  a  name  given.  A  new  word 
had  been  uttered  in  the  world,  that  was,  as  the  centuries 
advanced,  to  be  echoed  and  reechoed  and  to  be  fruitful 
in  newly  advancing  ideas.  Comparable  only  to  it,  in 
modern  history,  was  the  word  spoken  sixty  years  before 
by  Luther  at  the  Diet  of  Worms.  And  now  the  doctrine 
of  the  responsibility  to  itself  of  the  conscience,  with  its 
allied  doctrine  of  religious  freedom,  had  been  completed 
by  the  political  doctrine  of  the  responsibility  of  govern- 
ment to  the  governed,  and  its  allied  doctrine  of  a  nation's 
right  to  the  choice  of  its  own  form  of  government.  But, 
just  as  the  idea  must  be  in  labor  until  the  word  for  it  is 
delivered,  so  the  word  itself  is  but  a  battle-cry,  the  fruits 
of  which  are  painfully  and  slowly  won.  The  labor  of 
Holland's  actual  independence,  begun  fifteen  years  be- 
fore, had  yet  to  be  protracted  sixty-seven  years. 

Hitherto  all  the  hope  of  the  patriots  had  centered  in 
William  of  Orange.  In  declaring  their  independence, 
they  offered  him  the  crown.  Partly  to  prove  the  disin- 
terestedness of  his  motives,  still  more  perhaps  because  he 
believed  that  the  final  release  from  Spain  could  be  ef- 
fected only  by  putting  the  new  state  under  the  protec- 
tion of  France  or  England,  he  refused  the  dignity. 
Fortunately,  however,  France  continued  to  be  a  reed  on 
which  no  dependence  could  be  placed,  and  the  English 
help,  when  it  did  come,  was  indirect.  Meanwhile,  Phil- 
[24] 


THE  OLD  ORDER  CHANGES 

ip's  ban  was  still  out  against  the  Stadtholder,  and  an 
attempt  was  made  upon  his  life.  He  was  shot  in  the 
face,  but  recovered  from  the  wound,  to  fall  a  victim, 
however,  two  years  later,  to  the  pistol  of  one  Balthasar 
Gerard.    The  tragedy  occurred  on  July  10,  1584. 

It  had  removed  the  chief  obstacle  to  Philip's  success. 
JNIaurice  would  worthily  succeed  his  father  in  the  gen- 
eralship of  the  war ;  but  the  brain  and  conscience,  the  un- 
swerving patience  and  unselfishness,  that  had  given  some 
reality  of  union  to  the  rival  elements  of  the  United  Prov- 
inces, were  buried  with  William  the  Silent.  The  exag- 
gerated individualism  of  the  several  provinces  and  cities 
would  have  put  them  at  the  mercy  of  Philip,  had  he  not 
himself  been  distracted  from  any  singleness  of  purpose 
by  the  same  cause.  His  own  exaggerated  egoism,  in- 
flated with  the  ambition  to  be  a  world-power,  prevented 
him  from  concentrating  his  efforts  upon  the  subjugation 
of  the  republic.  He  still  strove  to  force  his  influence 
upon  the  affairs  of  France,  and  meanwhile  made  prepa- 
rations to  subdue  England. 

Thus  Elizabeth,  much  as  her  Tudor  instinct  may  have 
shrunk  from  the  idea  of  encouraging  rebellion  against 
kingship,  was  induced  by  her  advisers  to  make  common 
cause  with  the  Dutch  against  Spain.  She  refused  their 
offer  of  the  crown,  but  lent  them  money  and  some  troops 
under  the  command  of  Leicester.  He  proved  inefficient 
as  a  general,  and,  while  a  few  names,  such  as  that  of  Sir 
Philip  Sidney,  stand  out  heroically,  England's  real  con- 
tribution to  Dutch  independence  was  indirect.  It  was 
Drake's  incessant  harrying  of  Spanish  ships  and  ports 
and  the  destruction  of  the  two  Armadas  that  distracted 
[25] 


THE  STORY  OF  DUTCH  PAINTING 

Spain,  broke  her  power  of  offense,  and  hastened  the 
exhaustion  of  her  waning  resources.  Thus  the  struggle 
with  the  provinces  continued  on  land,  but  became 
more  desultory,  while  of  the  sea  the  Dutch  had  prac- 
tically undisputed  mastery.  The  result  was  an  acces- 
sion of  adventurous  spirit  that,  while  it  failed  in  the 
attempt  to  discover  a  Northwest  Passage,  established 
settlements  in  the  East  Indies,  wore  down  the  competi- 
tion of  the  Spaniards  in  the  trade  of  those  regions,  and 
inaugurated  a  condition  of  extraordinary  commercial 
prosperity. 

^leanwhile  Philip's  long  reign  of  forty-three  years 
was  drawing  to  a  close.  In  May,  1598,  he  handed  over 
the  Netherlands  to  his  daughter  and  son-in-law,  the 
Archduke  Albert,  and  a  few  weeks  later  died.  It  is  suf- 
ficient for  our  present  purpose  to  recall  that  the  pro- 
longation of  the  war  on  behalf  of  the  archduke  by  vari- 
ous generals,  including  Spinola,  was  stopped  by  the 
bankruptcy  of  the  attacking  parties.  A  truce  of  twelve 
years  was  agreed  to  in  1609. 

Such  was  the  background  of  events  that  preceded  the 
birth  of  a  new  art  in  Holland.  A  new  nation  had  been 
formed,  and  the  circumstances  which  attended  its  forma- 
tion had  a  direct  influence  in  shaping  the  character  of  the 
new  art.  That  it  involved  a  departure  from  the  decora- 
tive grandeur  and  the  religious  motive  of  Italian  art  was 
an  incident  of  the  Dutch  having  repudiated  alike  the 
Roman  Catholic  form  of  worship  and  the  ceremonies  of 
a  regal  court.  Almost  equally  incidental  was  the  fact 
that  the  artists  were  limited  to  subjects  drawn  from  the 
personages  and  conditions  of  life  within  their  own  bor- 
1262 


THE  OLD  ORDER  CHANGES 

ders;  were  influenced,  in  fact,  to  become  realists.  This, 
I  repeat,  was  incidental  and  not  unexampled,  for  realism 
was  at  the  same  time  revived  in  Italy  and  continued  in 
Spain.  The  fundamental  thing  was  to  be  the  character 
of  Holland's  realism;  and  this  was  a  direct  product  of 
the  national  events  we  have  been  describing.  For  it  was 
a  symptom  of  the  general  character  that  the  people  had 
been  forming  in  itself  during  more  than  half  a  century 
of  nation-building.    It  was  essentially  a  moral  character. 

I  need  hardly  say  that  I  do  not  use  the  word  "moral" 
in  its  narrower  sense,  but  to  the  full  extent  of  its  sugges- 
tion of  a  stout  fiber  of  conviction  and  purpose  that 
habitually  promotes  integrity  of  conscience  and  deter- 
mines the  conduct  of  a  nation  or  an  individual.  It  is 
nearer  to  our  borrowed  word,  "morale."  It  is  the  prod- 
uct, I  take  it,  primarily  of  a  great  and  worthy  pride  in 
self,  and  then  of  loyalty  to  the  best  in  one's  self  that  such 
pride  engenders  and  makes  necessary.  It  is  what  an 
artist,  least  of  all  men,  can  afford  to  be  without ;  for  his 
work  IS  necessarily  an  expression  of  himself,  and,  if  he 
has  not  morality  in  the  sense  we  have  been  describing, 
his  work  will  inevitably  betray  the  fact  and  prove  the 
weaker  for  it.  No  artist  in  any  medium  can  maintain  a 
bluff.  Even  if  it  hoodwinks  his  contemporaries,  poster- 
ity will  "call  it." 

Now,  in  the  case  of  Holland,  the  struggle  for  a  great 
principle,  persevered  in  against  all  discouragements,  had 
gradually  established  in  the  nation  just 'such  a  morality, 
which  during  the  years  of  the  truce  and  for  some  thirty 
years  later  was  to  demonstrate  its  value  in  practically 
every  department  of  human  activity.    To  higher  learn- 

1:27: 


THE  STORY  OF  DUTCH  PAINTING 

ing  and  research,  to  the  practical  affairs  of  Ufe,  such  as 
manufactures,  commerce,  banking,  engineering,  agri- 
culture, and  dairy-farming,  to  questions  of  disease  and 
hygiene,  and  to  the  systematizing  of  the  legal  relations 
as  well  of  nations  as  of  individuals,  the  Dutch  brought 
the  application  of  a  new  principle,  substituting  for  em- 
piricism and  laissez-faire  the  method  of  approach  and 
treatment  that  we  now  call  scientific. 

It  is  a  term,  by  the  way,  that  from  time  to  time  has 
been  assumed  to  be  antagonistic  to  morality ;  whereas,  if 
properly  considered,  it  should  and  does  surely  represent 
a  morality  of  the  most  exacting  and,  frequently,  the  most 
disinterested  kind.  One  after  another,  then,  the  Dutch 
in  those  days  of  newly  realized  nationality  confronted 
the  problems  of  intellectual,  material,  and  social  prog- 
ress, bringing  to  their  study  a  keen  analysis,  and  han- 
dling their  solution  with  integrity  and  thoroughness. 
With  morality  such  as  this  conspicuously  abroad  in  the 
community,  it  would  have  been  strange  if  her  artists  had 
not  reproduced  it  in  their  own  special  field ;  if  to  direct- 
ness and  sanity  of  vision  they  had  not  brought  a  scrupu- 
lous artistic  conscience,  that  resulted  in  integrity  and 
thoroughness  of  craftsmanship.  That  certain  of  them 
at  some  period  of  their  careers  deviated,  as  we  shall  see, 
from  this  high  standard  does  but  emphasize  the  existence 
of  the  latter,  which,  too,  was  reached,  not  by  a  few  in- 
dividuals, but  by  the  artists  as  a  body ;  so  that  in  no  other 
school  of  painting  can  you  find  such  wide-spread  excel- 
lence of  technique.  This,  indeed,  if  we  may  anticipate  the 
sequel,  proved  to  be  one  of  the  causes  of  the  school's  sub- 
sequent decline.    Technique  came  to  be  pursued  as  a  mo- 

1:28] 


PORTRAIT  OF  THE  ARTIST 


GERARD  TERBORCH 


HAGUE  MUSEUM 


I 


THE  OLD  ORDER  CHANGES 

tive.  But  this  was  itself  a  symptom  of  a  deeper  cause — the 
freshness  of  the  original  motive  had  been  outworn,  its 
vigor  slackened.  The  nation  itself  had  by  that  time  lost 
the  simple  directness  of  its  early  ideal  and  become  enam- 
oured of  the  sophistries  of  a  world-wide  ambition. 

But  to  resume  the  thread  of  the  story.  At  the  com- 
mencement of  the  new  century  Hals  was  sixteen  years 
old;  Daniel  Seghers,  eleven;  Van  Goyen  and  the  por- 
trait-painter Thomas  de  Keyser,  four.  The  train,  in 
fact,  was  already  laid  for  a  new  kind  of  portraiture  and 
for  a  new  motive  in  painting— that  of  naturalistic  land- 
scape. Otherwise  the  men  destined  to  be  the  most  repre- 
sentative of  the  new  school  were  as  yet  unborn.  With 
the  opening  of  the  century,  however,  their  names  ap- 
pear thick  and  fast,  and  continue  to  arrive  for  forty 
years;  after  which  the  list  of  those  conspicuous  in  the 
annals  of  the  Dutch  seventeenth-century  school  ceases. 
Dating,  therefore,  from  Hals's  birth  in  1584,  the  period 
covered  is  fifty-six  years. 

It  is  perhaps  convenient  for  the  purpose  of  assisting 
the  memory  to  divide  the  first  forty  years  of  the  new  cen- 
tury into  two  parts:  the  first  ending  in  1621,  with  the 
conclusion  of  the  twelve  years'  truce;  and  the  second 
with  the  marriage,  in  1641,  of  the  Prince  of  Orange's 
son,  William,  to  the  eldest  daughter  of  Charles  I  of  Eng- 
land. The  historical  aspect  of  these  two  periods  in  rela- 
tion to  the  story  of  art  may  be  considered  after  we  have 
reviewed  the  names  of  the  principal  artists  whose  births 
they  contain. 

The  earlier  division,  then,  includes  the  greatest  name 
in  the  art  of  Holland,  one  of  the  greatest  in  all  art,  that 

129-2 


THE  STORY  OF  DUTCH  PAINTING 

of  Rembrandt,  who  was  born  in  1606.  The  latter  is  the 
birth-year  also  of  the  flower-painter  Jan  van  Heem, 
while  the  preceding  years  of  the  century  disclose  the 
names  of  the  marine-painter  Simon  de  Vlieger  and  the 
landscape-painters  Salomon  Ruisdael  and  Aert  van  der 
Neer,  and  Palamedesz,  painter  of  genre.  The  year  1610 
gives  us  Van  Ostade  and  the  landscape-painter  Johannes 
Both;  1611,  Ferdinand  Bol  and  Willem  van  de  Velde 
the  Elder;  1613,  Wouwerman  and  Gerard  Dou;  and 
1615,  Govert  Flinck  and  Jan  Wynants. 

Here  we  may  check  the  routine  of  enumeration  to  note 
another  great  name,  one  of  the  most  distinguished  of  the 
Holland  School.  It  is  that  of  Gerard  Terborch,  born  in 
1617.  He  is  followed,  in  1619,  by  the  landscape-painter 
Philips  Koninck  and  the  portrait-painter  Bartholomeus 
van  der  Heist.  To  them  succeed  in  1620  Aelbert  Cuyp 
and  Nicolaes  Berchem,  followed  in  1621  by  Eeckliout 
and  Allart  van  Everdingen. 

This  enumeration  does  not  pretend  to  be  exhaustive. 
The  aim  has  been  rather  to  include  as  few  names  as  pos- 
sible, so  as  to  simplify  the  study  by  concentrating  atten- 
tion from  the  start  on  those  which  are  most  representa- 
tive and  most  often  met  with.  After  familiarizing 
one's  self  with  these,  it  is  comparatively  easy  to  add  to 
their  number  and  to  place  the  newly  acquired  ones  in 
their  chronological  relation  to  this  preliminary  list.  The 
same  motive  determines  the  selection  for  the  second 
period. 

It  begins  in  1624  with  Carel  Fabritius;  but  the  fol- 
lowing year  discloses  a  name  that  in  the  Holland  School 
stands  very  close  to  Rembrandt,  Jacob  Ruisdael,  and 
11303 


THE  OLD  ORDER  CHANGES 

another  name  of  great  reputation,  Paul  Potter.  To 
1626  belongs  Jan  Steen.  After  the  birth  of  this  artist 
there  is  a  pause  of  four  years,  when  Gabriel  INIetsu 
and  the  still-life  painter  Kalf  appear,  to  be  followed  two 
years  later,  in  1632,  by  a  notable  trio,  Nicolaes  INIaes, 
Pieter  de  Hooch,  and  the  most  distinguished,  Jan  Ver- 
meer  of  Delft.  With  1633  comes  the  marine-painter 
Willem  van  de  Velde  the  Younger,  and  mth  1635  Frans 
van  IVIieris;  while  1636  yields  Adriaen  van  de  Velde, 
landscape-  and  figure-painter,  and  the  painter  of  birds 
and  poultry,  JNIelchior  d'Hondecoeter.  Finally,  the 
painter  of  architecture,  Jan  van  der  Heyden,  is  born  in 
1637;  Hobbema  in  1638,  and  in  1640  the  painter  of  ani- 
mals and  dead  game,  Jan  Weenix. 

If  one  glances  back  over  the  names  of  these  two 
periods,  it  is  to  note  some  interesting  suggestions.  In 
the  first  place,  one  of  the  earliest  names.  Van  Heem,  and 
the  last  of  the  list,  Weenix,  represent  painters  of  still- 
life.  The  fact  emphasizes  the  hold  which  this  branch  of 
painting  had  upon  the  interest  alike  of  the  painters  and 
their  public,  and  the  part  it  plays  in  the  general  work  of 
the  school.  In  our  own  day  there  is  perhaps  a  tendency 
to  underestimate  the  interest  of  still-life.  "Only  a  pic- 
ture of  flowers  or  fruit  or  game,"  represents  the  feeling 
of  many  people  on  the  subject.  It  is  an  attitude  of 
mind,  resulting  from  the  habit  of  relying  on  the  mind  to 
appreciate  a  picture.  Thus,  as  a  subject  for  mental 
study,  a  bunch  of  flowers,  a  mass  of  vegetables,  pots  and 
pans  and  the  like,  may  not  be  interesting.  On  the  other 
hand,  I  think  it  would  be  a  mistake  to  assume  that  the 
Holland  public  of  the  seventeenth  century  were  free 


THE  STORY  OF  DUTCH  PAINTING 

from  this  tendency;  or  to  suppose  that  they  regarded  a 
picture  as  a  thing  to  be  viewed  and  to  be  appreciated 
solely  through  the  abstract  pleasure  that  is  communicated 
by  the  joy  of  sight.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  they  were  actu- 
ally interested  in  the  objects  represented  in  the  still-life 
pictures.  They  were  enthusiastic  cultivators  of  flowers 
and  vegetables,  keen  sportsmen,  and  shared  with  the  wo- 
men of  their  families  a  pride  in  all  the  objects  of  decora- 
tion and  utility  in  their  homes,  so  that  even  utensils  of 
ordinary  use  were  made  and  kept  in  a  state  of  being  orna- 
mental. Accordingly,  with  that  simple  directness,  char- 
acteristic of  the  race,  they  took  a  positive  interest  in 
the  representation  of  such  things.  The  latter  were  sub- 
jects of  importance  in  life;  accordingly,  since  their  art 
was  so  intimate  an  expression  of  their  life,  they  were  wel- 
comed as  subjects  for  pictures. 

The  public  also  applauded  the  skill  with  which  such 
subjects  were  rendered  by  the  artists,  and  the  latter, 
since  still-life  presented  excellent  opportunities  for  the 
display  of  craftsmanship,  were  glad  enough  to  recipro- 
cate the  popular  taste.  Thus  resulted  what  one  notes 
as  a  second  point  in  the  consideration  of  Holland  still- 
life  painting:  namely,  that  the  artists  freely  introduced 
objects  of  still-life  into  their  portraits.  I  cannot  cite  a 
more  typical  instance  than  the  earliest  military  group- 
picture  by  Frans  Hals  in  the  Haarlem  Museum.  Here 
the  viands  and  furnishings  of  the  banquet  are  rendered 
with  at  least  as  much  gusto  as  the  heads,  and  for  the 
present  with  more  assurance.  Thirdly,  it  is  easy  to  trace 
the  influence  that  this  joy  in  the  representation  of  still- 
life  had  upon  the  evolution  of  genre  painting  in  the  Hoi- 
[32] 


THE  OLD  ORDER  CHANGES 

land  School  and  upon  the  particular  character  that  it 
assumes.  In  fact,  the  interest  in  still-life  subjects,  with 
the  influence  it  had  upon  the  methods  of  the  artists,  was 
a  most  important  factor  in  the  development  of  the  Hol- 
land School.  Closely  allied  to  it  is  the  interest  in  por- 
traiture. 

How  radically  this  interest  affected  the  art  of  Holland 
may  be  gathered  from  another  glance  at  the  foregoing 
list  of  names.  It  is  in  the  beginning  of  the  new  era,  in 
the  earlier  division  of  names,  that  all  the  famous  por- 
trait-painters appear.  Not  to  mention  Rembrandt, 
whose  genius  was  of  the  universal  kind,  embracing  in  its 
single  scope  the  separated  motives  of  other  artists,  we 
find  the  names  of  Hals,  Mierevelt,  Ravesteyn,  Van  der 
Heist,  Terborch,  De  Keyser,  Cuyp,  Bol,  and  Flinck. 
On  the  other  hand,  among  the  names  in  the  second  list, 
selected  without  any  parti  pris,  there  is  not  one  of  first 
or  even  second  rank  as  a  portrait-painter;  only  men 
like  Maes  and  Netscher,  who  were  primarily  and  far 
more  worthily  genre  painters. 

For  it  is  the  genre  painters  who  form  one  of  the  chief 
distinctions  of  the  later  generation.  It  is  true  that  Dou 
belongs  with  the  eailier,  and  he  was  and  still  remains 
popular.  But  he  is  not  in  the  same  class  as  Vermeer  and 
Steen,  nor  as  Maes,  Metsu,  and  De  Hooch,  scarcely  as 
a  painter  even  to  be  reckoned  with  Ostade.  Indeed,  he 
is  nearer  to  Van  Mieris  and  Netscher,  the  men  in  whose 
hands  genre  sank  to  a  distinctly  lower  level.  The  only 
example  in  the  earlier  generation  of  a  great  genre 
painter  is  Terborch,  who  presents  the  exception,  and  a 
brilliant  one,  to  the  generalization  I  have  suggested. 
1332 


THE  STORY  OF  DUTCH  PAINTING 

Another  point  of  interest  to  be  derived  from  this  sum- 
mary is  the  place  that  landscape  takes  among  the  mo- 
tives of  the  Holland  School.  We  see,  in  fact,  that  it 
figures  at  the  beginning  of  the  new  era  and  continues  to 
the  end.  Seghers  and  Van  Goyen  precede  the  century, 
which  immediately  opens  with  Salomon  Ruisdael  and 
Aert  van  der  Neer,  followed  in  the  earlier  division  by 
Both,  Wouwerman,  Koninck,  Cuyp,  Berchem,  and  Van 
Everdingen.  Then  the  second  period  opens  with  the 
birth  of  Jacob  Ruisdael,  and,  including  Potter,  Adriaen 
van  de  Velde,  and  Vermeer  (the  last  named  with  one 
known  example),  ends  with  Hobbema.  Similarly,  in 
the  allied  department  of  marine-painting,  the  century 
opens  with  Simon  de  Vlieger;  Willem  van  de  Velde  the 
Elder  follows,  and  in  the  later  period  the  art  is  repre- 
sented by  Bakhuysen  and  Willem  van  de  Velde  the 
Younger. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  in  each  field  of  motive  the  seed 
was  laid  in  the  beginning  of  the  period  under  examina- 
tion. What  followed  was  a  rotation  of  crops  and  an 
enriched  development  of  each  variety. 


18*2 


CHAPTER  III 

BEGINNING  OF  THE  NEW 

THE  breathing-time  given  by  the  truce  allowed 
play  for  dissensions  among  parties  and  for  the 
ambitions  that  had  crept  into  the  house  of 
Orange.  Meanwhile  it  favored  the  development  that 
during  the  next  hundred  years  made  Holland  the  richest 
and  most  advanced  country  in  Europe. 

To  commemorate  the  raising  of  the  siege  of  Leyden, 
the  patriots  in  1574  had  founded  a  imiversity  in  that 
city;  to  inaugurate  the  truce,  they  pumped  dry  the 
Beemster  Lake  and  added  eighteen  thousand  acres  to 
their  territory.  The  two  acts,  and  even  the  order  in 
which  they  came,  were  characteristic  of  this  extraordi- 
nary people.  They  were  the  most  enlightened  of  their  day 
and  brought  their  intelligence  to  bear  upon  all  the  practi- 
cal concerns  of  life.  The  renown  of  their  university  ex- 
celled that  of  Paris,  Oxford,  or  Cambridge ;  their  schol- 
ars laid  the  foundations  of  international  law  and  modern 
medicine,  and  their  printing-presses  produced  more 
books  than  those  of  the  rest  of  Europe  combined.  Their 
development  in  painting  is  our  present  subject,  but  they 
also  carried  their  love  of  the  beautiful  into  the  design 
and  craftsmanship  of  the  ornaments  and  utensils  of  the 
home,  and  into  the  laying  out  of  gardens  and  the  culti- 

CSS] 


THE  STORY  OF  DUTCH  PAINTING 

vation  of  flowers.  Meanwhile  their  looms,  manned  by 
weavers  who  had  fled  from  Flanders  to  avoid  religious 
persecution,  produced  the  finest  fabrics  in  Europe ;  their 
workshops  exported  the  best  mathematical,  astronomi- 
cal, and  nautical  instruments ;  and  their  discovery  of  the 
art  of  cutting  and  polishing  diamonds  gave  them  a  mo- 
nopoly of  this  business.  The  Bank  of  Amsterdam  was 
founded  in  the  first  year  of  the  truce  and  soon  became 
famous  for  the  amount  of  its  deposits  and  the  volume  of 
its  transactions,  while  the  city  itself  became  the  chief 
distributing  center  for  the  commerce  of  the  Old  and  the 
New  World. 

Meanwhile  in  agriculture  the  Hollanders  displayed  a 
similar  combination  of  scientific  resourcefulness  and  in- 
domitable energy.  They  discovered  the  value  as  fodder 
of  certain  "artificial"  grasses  and  clovers,  and  experi- 
mented with  these  to  the  immense  improvement  of  their 
cattle  and  dairy  produce;  and  by  the  application  of 
intensive  methods  to  the  cultivation  of  the  land  so  in- 
creased its  productivity,  that  it  became  capable  of  sup- 
porting three  times  the  population  which  had  before  sub- 
sisted on  it.  Further,  by  promoting  the  cultivation  of 
the  potato  and  other  root-vegetables  they  wrought  a  sig- 
nal improvement  in  the  public  health,  since  the  variety 
of  diet,  thus  made  possible  in  winter,  stamped  out  the 
scurvy  and  leprosy  which  had  been  the  scourge  of  Hol- 
land as  of  other  countries.  At  the  same  time  they  devel- 
oped their  fisheries  and  introduced  improved  methods  of 
drying  and  treating  fish;  enlarged  their  merchant  ma- 
rine, so  that  they  became  the  chief  carriers  of  the  world ; 
and  pushed  their  commerce  with  the  Indies,  until  they 

1:363 


^ 


BEGINNING  OF  THE  NEW 

possessed  a  practical  monopoly  of  the  most  lucrative 
trade  of  those  times,  namely,  that  of  spices. 

JNIeanwhile,  as  a  reverse  to  this  story  of  national  prog- 
ress, were  the  religious  and  political  dissensions  that 
crept  into  the  commonwealth.  Protestantism,  after  pre- 
senting a  solid  front  to  Romanism,  now  found  itself  cleft 
by  the  sect-rivalries  of  Arminians  and  Gomarists;  and 
these  in  time  gave  color  and  opportunity  to  the  ambition 
of  Maurice.  No  disinterested  patriot  like  his  father, 
William  the  Silent,  the  second  Stadtholder  intrigued  for 
his  personal  aggrandizement,  and  stained  his  memory 
by  the  judicial  murder  of  the  old  patriot-statesman 
Barneveldt.  On  the  other  hand,  of  better  memory  was 
his  service  to  art.  In  1611  he  commissioned  Ravesteyn 
to  paint  a  series  of  portraits  of  officers.  These  and  other 
pictures  that  he  gathered  adorned  his  palace,  and,  added 
to  by  his  successor,  the  Stadtholder  Frederick  Henry, 
became  the  nucleus  of  the  collection  that,  accumulating 
through  various  vicissitudes,  now  occupies  the  ]Maurits- 
huis,  as  the  Royal  Museum  of  The  Hague. 

The  lack  of  cohesion,  of  which  these  dissensions  were 
a  symptom,  and  that  had  always  been  close  to  the  sur- 
face of  unity  owing  to  the  excessive  individualism  of  the 
cities,  was  reflected  in  the  new  art.  Small  as  was  the 
total  area  of  the  country,  it  supplied  a  number  of  artistic 
centers,  each  with  its  group  of  artists,  who  had  sufficient 
in  common  to  constitute  a  school.  Under  the  influence 
of  tradition,  or  more  often  of  some  conspicuous  member 
of  the  group,  they  presented  similarities  of  motive  that 
distinguished  their  choice  of  subjects  and  even  their 
method  of  painting.     Thus  we  may  note  a  school  of 


THE  STORY  OF  DUTCH  PAINTING 

Haarlem,  of  Leyden,  of  Amsterdam,  The  Hague,  Delft, 
Dordrecht,  and  Utrecht.  There  was  a  certain  rivalry 
between  the  schools  of  these  various  cities,  but,  on  the 
other  hand,  a  centripetal  force  that  tended  also  to  draw 
them  together.  Communication  was  easy  in  so  small  a 
country,  and,  moreover,  the  growing  importance  of 
Amsterdam  as  the  commercial  capital  made  it  gradually 
a  center  also  of  art.  The  result  was  a  happy  combina- 
tion of  homogeneousness  and  individualism.  The  paint- 
ings of  the  period  possess  a  common  excellence,  of  a  kind 
so  distinctive  that  you  may  recognize  at  once  a  picture 
as  belonging  to  the  School  of  Holland,  and  yet  they 
reveal  so  many  individual  traits  that  the  homogeneous- 
ness is  not  characterized  by  monotony. 

Accordingly,  if  we  do  not  make  the  mistake  of  trjang 
to  surround  the  school  of  each  city  w^th  an  arbitrary 
wall,  separating  it  conclusively  from  other  cities,  we  may 
get  many  suggestions  that  help  to  classify  our  compre- 
hension of  the  Holland  School  as  a  whole.  I  propose, 
therefore,  to  distribute  the  artists,  whose  names  we  have 
already  reviewed,  according  to  their  individual  schools; 
to  the  cities  in  which  they  worked,  and,  in  most  cases, 
were  born  and  educated. 

Under  the  head  of  Utrecht,  then,  we  find  the  names 
of  Heem,  Hondecoeter,  and  Weenix,  all  three  of  them 
still-life  painters.  But,  while  this  points  to  the  fact  that 
the  distinguishing  characteristic  of  the  Utrecht  School 
was  the  painting  of  flowers,  dead  game,  and  birds,  it  is 
not  to  be  assumed  that  still-life  is  unrepresented  in  the 
other  schools.  The  catalogues  contain  the  names  of  no 
less  than  a  hundred  painters  in  this  department,  distrib- 

CSS] 


BEGINNING  OF  THE  NEW 

uted  throughout  the  various  cities,  and,  as  time  goes  on, 
congregating  especially  in  Amsterdam.  To  the  latter 
Weenix  and  Hondecoeter  migrated ;  and  it  is  interesting 
to  note  how  the  change  of  locale  affected  their  art.  Cor- 
responding to  the  wealth  of  the  capital,  their  pictures 
became  much  larger,  designed  as  superb  decorations  for 
the  walls  of  sumptuous  houses. 

The  School  of  Haarlem  includes  the  following:  the 
portrait-painters  Bray,  Hals,  and  Terborch,  the  last 
also  a  genre  painter,  like  Ostade  of  this  city;  and  the 
landscapists  Salomon  and  Jacob  Ruisdael,  Wynants, 
Everdingen,  Wouwerman,  Esaias  van  de  Velde,  and 
Berchem.  The  array  of  names,  in  the  first  place,  sug- 
gests the  importance  of  Haarlem  at  this  period,  as  a 
center  of  commerce,  society,  and  art.  We  may  remem- 
ber that  it  was  particularly  given  to  "corporation"  pic- 
tures, as  its  museum  to  this  day  proclaims  in  the  works 
of  Bray  and  Hals,  while  Terborch,  commencing  under 
the  influence  of  this  place,  later  on  painted  the  equiva- 
lent of  a  corporation  picture  in  his  Peace  of  Miinster, 
now  in  the  National  Gallery.  Another  clue  to  be  de- 
rived from  this  grouping  of  names  is  that  Hals,  the 
acknowledged  leader,  exerted  a  direct  influence  on  Ter- 
borch and  Ostade;  and  through  the  latter  upon  Steen, 
who  came  over  from  Leyden  to  be  Ostade's  student. 

Further,  we  recognize  that  this  school  was  as  fertile 
in  landscape  as  in  portraiture.  With  the  exception  of 
Van  Goyen  of  Leyden,  the  founders  and  chief  expo- 
nents of  the  art  were  associated  with  Haarlem;  even 
Hobbema  of  Amsterdam,  through  his  having  been  a 
pupil  of  Jacob  Ruisdael.     The  latter 's  career,  also,  is 

[393 


THE  STORY  OF  DUTCH  PAINTING 

made  clearer  by  this  classification.  Haarlem  was  his 
birthplace  and  the  scene  of  his  personally  inspired  work. 
When,  discouraged  by  lack  of  recognition,  he  moved  to 
Amsterdam,  it  was  the  example  of  his  fellow-townsmen 
that  made  him  change  his  own  style.  For  Everdingen, 
who  had  visited  Sweden,  was  painting  romantic  scenes 
of  waterfalls  and  rocks,  and  Ruisdael,  observing  how 
they  found  favor  with  the  Amsterdammers,  abandoned 
his  study  of  the  Holland  landscape  to  invent  similar  sub- 
jects. Finally,  we  may  connect  Wouwerman  with  two 
of  his  townsmen.  From  Wynants  he  learned  the  land- 
scape, and  by  Hals  was  influenced  in  his  incomparable 
treatment  of  the  accompanying  groups  of  figures. 

The  School  of  Leyden  boasts  the  great  name  of  Rem- 
brandt, who,  however,  moved  finally  to  Amsterdam  in 
1631,  when  nearing  his  twenty-fifth  year.  After  him 
the  names  that  appear  in  the  School  of  Leyden  are:  Dou, 
Steen,  Metsu,  JNIieris,  and  Van  Goyen;  all  of  them,  the 
last  named  only  excepted,  genre  painters.  Dou  studied 
with  Rembrandt,  who  was  seven  years  his  senior,  during 
the  last  three  years  of  the  latter's  stay  in  Leyden.  He 
himself  became  the  teacjher  of  Gabriel  Metsu,  who,  how- 
ever, was  also  influenced  by  Frans  Hals,  and  also,  after 
his  move  to  Amsterdam,  where  he  died,  by  Rembrandt. 
Dou  was  also  the  instructor  of  Frans  van  Mieris.  Steen, 
on  the  other  hand,  the  greatest  of  the  Leyden  group, 
escaped  the  influence  of  Dou,  becoming,  as  we  have  seen, 
a  pupil  of  Van  Ostade  at  Haarlem,  and  later  of  Van 
Goyen,  after  the  latter  had  moved  tc  The  Hague.  Van 
Goyen,  though  born  in  Leyden,  is  associated  also 
with  the  Haarlem  School,  for  after  he  had  had  several 


BEGINNING  OF  THE  NEW 

masters,  including  Van  Swanenburch,  in  Leyden,  he 
served  apprenticeship  to  the  Haarlem  painter  Esaias 
van  de  Velde.  Moreover,  by  the  time  that  he  had  mas- 
tered his  art,  he  settled  in  The  Hague.  Thus  the  char- 
acteristic of  the  School  of  Leyden  remains  its  genre. 

The  names  from  our  list  that  the  School  of  Delft  in- 
cludes are  those  of  Mierevelt,  Fabritius,  Van  Aelst, 
Palamedesz,  De  Hooch,  and,  most  distinguished  of  all, 
Vermeer.  Mierevelt,  as  a  portrait-painter,  found  better 
opportimities  for  his  art  at  the  seat  of  government,  and 
became  a  member  of  the  Guild  of  Painters  of  The 
Hague.  Carel  Fabritius  was  early  attracted  to  Amster- 
dam by  the  fame  of  Rembrandt,  and  only  returned  to 
work  in  Delft  during  the  last  four  years  of  his  short  life 
of  thirty-four  years.  Van  Aelst,  also,  the  still-life 
painter,  after  oscillating  between  Delft  and  Florence, 
finally  settled  in  Amsterdam.  So  did  the  portraitist  and 
painter  of  fashionable  genre,  Palamedesz.  He  derived 
help  at  first  from  Mierevelt  and  was  influenced  by  Hals, 
and  in  1621  his  name  appears  as  a  member  of  the  guild 
in  Delft,  but  he  spent  the  latter  part  of  his  life  in  Am- 
sterdam. This  city  also  absorbed  De  Hooch,  who,  be- 
fore he  finally  settled  there,  had  been  influenced  by  Rem- 
brandt. In  fact,  his  participation  in  the  School  of  Delft 
was  limited  to  the  two  years  in  which  he  was  a  fellow- 
member  of  the  guild  w^ith  Jan  Vermeer.  They  were 
of  the  same  age,  but  Vermeer  was  his  senior  in  the 
guild  by  two  years,  and  it  is  scarcely  to  be  questioned 
that  the  influence  of  his  refined  feeling  and  exquisite 
craftsmanship  must  have  affected  De  Hooch  consider- 
ably. In  contrast  to  the  flux  of  change  that  characterized 


THE  STORY  OF  DUTCH  PAINTING 

the  lives  of  the  other  members  of  the  Delft  School  is  the 
consistency  of  Vermeer's  attachment  to  the  city  of  his 
birth.  We  shall  discuss  his  art  later.  Here  it  is  enough 
to  recall  that  his  only  teacher  was  Carel  Fabritius;  but 
that  his  art,  as  it  developed,  was  individually  his  own, 
conspicuously  unique,  and  so  admirable  that  when  one 
speaks  of  the  Delft  School  it  is  to  think  almost  exclu- 
sively of  its  greatest  artist,  Jan  Vermeer  of  Delft. 

In  connection  with  The  Hague  it  is  more  correct  to 
speak  of  a  group  than  of  a  school.  Among  the  artists  in 
our  list  the  only  one  born  actually  in  this  city  was  Rave- 
steyn,  although  it  is  true  that  Schalcken's  native  place 
was  a  village  in  the  vicinity.  But  the  same  reason  that 
made  the  former  constant  to  the  seat  of  government  at- 
tracted thither  other  artists.  The  Hague  was  also  a  cen- 
ter of  society  and  fashion.  3Iierevelt  found  there  a  mar- 
ket for  his  portraits,  Van  Goyen  for  his  landscapes,  and 
Netscher,  Schalcken,  and  De  Hooch  for  genre  pictures. 
The  last  named  spent  some  years  there,  but  retired  to 
Amsterdam.  The  rest  continued  working  at  The  Hague 
until  their  deaths.  Among  them  Van  Goyen  is  easily  the 
most  distinguished.  The  rest  are  rather  symptomatic  of 
the  atmosphere  of  their  surroundings.  The  portraits 
by  Mierevelt  and  Ravesteyn  have  the  perfunctori- 
ness  of  official  and  society  products,  eminently  digni- 
fied and  comme  il  faut,  irresistibly  uninteresting,  while 
the  genre  of  Netscher  and  Schalcken  is  petty  and  frivo- 
lous by  comparison  with  that  of  the  older  and  greater 
painters,  and  Netscher's  portraits  are  frequently  in- 
sipid as  to  character  and  over-occupied  with  the  niceties 
of  millinery. 

n42] 


BEGINNING  OF  THE  NEW 

Of  Dordrecht  or  Dort  our  list  contains  only  one  name, 
that  of  Aelbert  Cuyp,  whose  versatile  genius  embraced 
portraiture,  landscape  and  animal  painting,  genre,  still- 
life,  church  interiors,  and  marines.  We  may  add  one 
other  name,  that  of  Hoogstraten,  not,  however,  so  much 
on  account  of  his  art  as  because  he  was  the  George  Vasari 
of  his  day,  the  historian  and  story-monger  of  the  painters 
of  Holland  in  the  seventeenth  century. 

It  remains  to  summarize  the  School  of  Amsterdam. 
As  may  have  been  gathered  from  the  foregoing,  it  was 
rather  an  aggregate  of  artists,  drawn  thither  by  two 
causes:  the  wealth  of  the  commercial  capital  and  the 
fame  and  influence  of  Rembrandt.  The  latter,  as  we 
have  seen,  moved  finally  from  his  native  city,  Leyden, 
to  Amsterdam  in  1631,  when  he  was  in  his  twenty-fifth 
year.  Two  years  later  he  painted  The  Lesson  in  Anat- 
omy, and  pupils  began  to  flock  to  him;  among  the  most 
notable  being  Ferdinand  Bol,  Govert  Flinck,  Eeck- 
hout,  Metsu,  Nicolaes  Maes,  Fabritius,  and  De  Hooch. 
On  the  other  hand,  among  those  w^hom  the  importance 
of  the  city  attracted  were  several  from  the  neighboring 
School  of  Haarlem ;  the  portrait-painter  Van  der  Heist, 
for  example,  and  the  landscape-painters  Berchem,  Jan 
Wynants,  Everdingen,  and  Jacob  Ruisdael ;  while  from 
Utrecht  came  the  still-life  painters  Hondecoeter  and 
Weenix,  and  from  Delft  Van  Aelst. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  native-bom  artists  of  Amster- 
dam included  that  early  genre  painter  Pieter  Aertz ;  the 
portrait-painter  Thomas  de  Keyser;  and  the  landscap- 
ists,  Hercules  Seghers,  Philips  Koninck,  Adriaen  van  de 
Velde,  Aert  van  der  Neer,  and  Hobbema.    But  the  dis- 

1:433 


THE  STORY  OF  DUTCH  PAINTING 

tinctively  local  characteristic  of  the  school,  situated  as  it 
was  in  this  great  emporium  of  foreign  commerce,  is  its 
group  of  marine-painters ;  among  whom  we  may  mention 
Simon  de  Vlieger,  Bakliuysen,  and  the  elder  and  the 
younger  WiUem  van  de  Velde.  Their  pictures  are  par- 
ticularly interesting  for  the  faithful  and  spirited  repre- 
sentation of  shipping:  fishing  craft,  coasting  vessels, 
East-Indiamen  in  harbor,  and  men-of-war  in  action. 
The  pictures  of  these  last  are  the  most  important  of  the 
occasional  indications  to  be  found  in  Dutch  painting  that 
throughout  this  period  of  productivity  in  the  arts  of 
peace  the  country  was  involved  in  war.  Not  that  the 
soldier  is  absent  from  pictures.  On  the  contrary, 
he  figures  frequently,  but  usually  in  the  intervals  of 
fighting,  while  enjoying  the  pleasures  of  a  furlough; 
though  occasionally  we  come  upon  some  positive  hint  of 
the  prevailing  disturbance,  as  in  a  scene  of  bivouac,  or  of 
peasants  and  soldiery  fighting,  or  of  soldiery  attacking 
a  traveling-coach  or  party  of  hunters.  Generally,  how- 
ever, the  subjects  of  the  Holland  pictures  are  rather  sug- 
gestive of  a  prof oimd  tranquillity. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  by  the  time  that  painting  reached 
its  maturity,  Holland  had  ceased  to  be  the  battle-ground. 
She  had  become  rather  a  focus  point  of  intrigue,  in- 
volved in  distant  complications  with  France,  Germany, 
and  England.  There  are  in  the  Rijks  Museum  at  Am- 
sterdam two  pictures  which  hint  at  this:  The  Fishers  for 
Souls,  by  Adriaen  van  de  Venne,  and  The  Enraged 
Swan,  by  Jan  Asselyn. 

The  former,  painted  in  1611  during  the  truce,  repre- 
sents a  river  dotted  with  boats,  the  occupants  of  which 
[44] 


BEGINNING  OF  THE  NEW 

are  fishing  for  the  men  and  women  that  swim  aromid 
them,  while  the  banks  are  crowded  with  spectators.  On 
the  left  are  serried  ranks  of  Hollanders,  closing  round 
those  in  whom  they  have  confidence,  namely,  the  Princes 
of  Orange,  Maurice  and  Frederick  Henry,  James  I  of 
England,  and  the  young  King  of  France,  Louis  XIII. 
On  the  opposite  bank  a  less  orderly  mass  of  people  con- 
fronts them,  headed  by  the  Archduke  Albert  and  the 
Duchess  Isabella,  to  whom  Philip  had  made  over  the 
sovereignty  of  the  Netherlands.  So  far  the  allegory 
epitomizes  the  political  situation  in  which  the  Hollanders 
found  themselves.  Meanwhile,  the  religious  aspect  of 
the  situation  is  suggested  in  the  circumstances  of  the  fish- 
ing, which  seems  to  refer  both  to  the  old  struggle  be- 
tween Catholicism  and  Protestantism  and  also  to  the 
new  one  arising  out  of  the  dissension  in  the  latter  be- 
tween the  rival  sects  of  the  Gomarists  and  Arminians. 
The  happy  outcome  of  it  all  is  prefigured  in  the  rainbow 
that  spans  the  scene. 

To  appreciate  the  allegory  involved  in  The  Enraged 
Swan  it  is  necessary  to  summarize  the  events  that  fol- 
lowed the  conclusion  of  the  truce  in  1621.  Spain  would 
have  been  glad  to  substitute  for  the  truce  a  permanent 
peace,  but  held  out  for  terms  that  were  unacceptable 
to  the  Hollanders;  and  war  in  a  desultory  fashion  was 
renewed.  By  this  time  the  Thirty  Years'  War  had  com- 
menced, and  the  religious  and  political  struggle,  that 
hitherto  had  centered  in  Holland,  was  being  continued 
in  a  distant  and  larger  field.  Maurice  died  in  1625  and 
was  succeeded  in  the  office  of  Stadtholder  by  Frederick 
Henry,  an  able  soldier  and  wise  and  patriotic  statesman, 
[45] 


THE  STORY  OF  DUTCH  PAINTING 

who  set  himself  to  consolidate  the  internal  resources  of 
the  republic.  The  latter  showed  its  recognition  of  his 
services  by  the  fatal  expedients  of  making  the  office  of 
Stadtholder  hereditary  in  the  house  of  Orange  and  of 
agreeing  to  the  marriage  of  Frederick's  son  William 
with  the  eldest  daughter  of  Charles  I.  The  effects  of 
this  were,  on  the  one  hand,  to  create  within  the  republic 
an  Orange  party  that  in  time  intrigued  for  absolutism 
of  government,  and,  on  the  other,  to  embroil  Holland  in 
the  struggle  between  the  Stuarts  and  the  Parliament  of 
England,  and  later,  upon  the  restoration  of  the  mon- 
archy in  the  person  of  Charles  II,  to  involve  the  republic 
both  in  diplomacy  and  in  war  with  that  utterly  unprin- 
cipled person. 

Meanwhile  peace  was  finally  concluded  with  Spain  in 
1648,  by  the  Treaty  of  Westphalia,  or,  as  the  compact  is 
also  styled,  the  Peace  of  Miinster,  which  was  proclaimed 
on  June  5,  1648,  the  day  on  which  Egmont  and  Horn 
had  been  executed  by  Alva  eighty  years  before.  By  this 
time  Frederick  had  been  succeeded  in  the  Stadtholder- 
ship  by  his  son  William,  who,  with  the  assistance  of  the 
Orange  party,  was  intriguing  for  absolute  rule.  Fortu- 
nately for  the  republic,  his  death  occurred  two  years 
later,  a  few  days  before  the  birth  of  his  son,  who  even- 
tually became  Stadtholder  and  subsequently  William  III 
of  England.  INIeanwhile,  during  the  prince's  minority, 
the  government  was  in  the  hands  of  Johan  de  Witt, 
whose  book  "The  Interest  of  Holland"  is  an  able  sum- 
mary of  the  political  and  commercial  conditions  of  the 
republic  at  the  time.  His  patriotism  had  been  whetted 
to  a  personal  edge  by  the  fact  that  he  had  been  im- 
1:463 


BEGINNING  OF  THE  NEW 

prisoned  illegally  and  arbitrarily  by  the  late  Stadtholder, 
and  his  opposition  to  the  pretensions  of  the  Orange 
party  was  in  consequence  unceasing  throughout  his  offi- 
cial term,  which  lasted  from  1650  to  1672.  It  is  this  that 
is  commemorated  in  The  Enraged  Swan. 

The  picture  represents  a  swan  standing  above  its  nest 
of  eggs,  in  a  fierce  and  threatening  attitude,  prepared  to 
repel  the  attack  of  a  dog.  Above  the  latter  is  an  inscrip- 
tion in  Dutch,  signifying  "The  Enemy  of  the  State," 
while  one  of  the  eggs  is  lettered  "Holland,"  and  beneath 
the  swan  are  the  words  "Grand  Pensionary,"  the  title 
of  the  office  of  Johan  de  Witt.  Since  the  artist,  Jan 
Asselyn,  died  in  1652,  it  is  possible  that  his  picture  orig- 
inally had  no  allegorical  intent,  but  that  its  owner,  see- 
ing its  application  to  the  political  situation,  caused  the 
inscriptions  to  be  added.  However  this  may  be,  it  re- 
mains a  curious  document  of  the  internal  dissensions  that 
at  this  period  rent  the  little  republic,  and  ended  with  the 
murder  of  De  Witt  and  his  brother  by  an  Orange  mob 
in  1672. 

Of  the  entanglements  into  which  the  union  of  the 
house  of  Orange  with  the  Stuarts  eventually  led  the  coun- 
try, it  is  enough  here  to  recall  that  the  enmity  of  Spain 
had  been  replaced  by  that  of  France.  The  ambition  of 
Louis  XIV  threatened  not  only  Holland  but  Europe; 
and  it  was  against  this  that  William  III  during  his 
Stadtholdership,  and  later,  when  he  also  occupied  the 
throne  of  England,  directed  the  military  resources  of 
both  countries  and  his  own  unrivaled  genius  as  a  diplo- 
matist. The  result  was  a  war,  interrupted  temporarily 
by  nominal  treaties  of  peace,  but  actually  protracted  be- 

n473 


THE  STORY  OF  DUTCH  PAINTING 

yond  the  lifetime  of  William,  until  the  power  of  France 
had  been  beaten  down  by  Marlborough,  and  peace  was 
secured  by  the  Treaty  of  Utrecht  in  1713.  Hobbema, 
the  last  of  the  great  Dutch  painters  of  the  seventeenth 
century,  had  died  six  years  before. 

Peace  removed  the  barriers  that  Holland  had  erected 
for  her  self-preservation.  Her  artists,  like  her  traders, 
wandered  afield.  The  old  centripetal  tendency,  which 
compelled  the  artist  to  find  initiative  in  his  own  sur- 
roundings at  home  and  so  bred  a  distinctly  Holland 
school,  was  superseded  by  the  tendency  to  look  for  mo- 
tive outside.  The  painter  found  it  in  Italy;  he  and  his 
art  became  Italianate.  This  is  not  to  say  that  the  Hol- 
land painters  of  the  eighteenth  century  are  without 
merit.  The  best  undoubtedly  have  a  charm  of  their  own ; 
but  it  is  not  of  the  kind  that  one  has  learned  to  recognize 
and  respect  in  the  earlier  pictures,  as  being  a  character- 
istic product  of  a  nation  fighting  to  maintain  the  integ- 
rity and  independence  of  its  nationality.  The  charm  is 
by  comparison  slender  and  superficial,  the  product,  not 
of  originality,  but  of  imitation.  For  the  art  of  Holland 
had  ceased  to  be  the  expression  of  conviction,  and  no 
longer  exemplified  the  morality  that  had  given  character 
to  its  motive  and  unimpeachable  integrity  to  its  tech- 
nique. 


1:483 


CHAPTER  IV 

FRANS  HALS 

THE  readiest  way  to  study  the  art  of  Holland  in 
the  seventeenth  century  is  under  the  separate 
heads  of  portraiture,  landscape,  marine,  genre, 
and  still-life.  In  this  way  one  obtains  a  comprehensive 
survey  of  the  development  of  each  of  these  branches,  and 
is  not  confused  by  the  fact  that  many  of  the  artists  prac- 
tised in  more  than  one  of  them.  But  at  the  start  it  must 
be  observed  that  these  separate  departments  are  inclosed 
in  a  common  motive.  As  Fromentin  says,  the  art  of 
Holland  was  essentially  an  art  of  portraiture.  It  fol- 
lowed from  the  character  of  the  people  and  the  condi- 
tions under  which  they  found  themselves.  They  were  a 
nation  of  burghers,  practical  in  mind,  direct  in  action, 
self-centered,  and  full  of  personal  and  local  pride.  What 
more  likely,  in  fact  more  inevitable,  than  that  they 
should  need  and  their  painters  should  supply  an  art 
which  gave  a  complete,  exact,  and  for  the  most  part  un- 
embellished  portrait  of  the  country,  its  people,  and  their 
habits  of  life. 

But  while  this  common  motive  of  portraiture,  which 
distinguishes  every  branch  of  Holland  painting,  was  in 
response  to  a  common  and  collective  need  of  the  people, 
it  was  modified  and  shaped  by  the  example  of  two  lead- 
ing personalities :  Hals  and  Rembrandt.  So  determining 

[*93 


THE  STORY  OF  DUTCH  PAINTING 

was  their  influence  that  an  analysis  of  their  respective 
motives  and  methods  is  not  only  a  necessary  preliminary 
but  the  quickest  way  to  a  comprehension  of  the  develop- 
ment of  the  whole  school. 

They  had  characteristics  in  common.  One  might  al- 
most represent  the  two  men  by  concentric  circles;  Hals 
being  the  inner,  Rembrandt  the  indefinitely  larger  one. 
Hals  was  an  epitome  of  the  genius  of  the  Dutch  race; 
Rembrandt  was  also  this,  but  more— the  expression  of  a 
genius  peculiarly  his  o^n.  Both  manifested,  Hals  in- 
variably, Rembrandt  at  times,  the  quality  of  direct  seeing 
and  doing  that  was  a  national  characteristic ;  but  at  other 
times  Rembrandt  was  possessed  of  a  spirituality,  if  one 
may  so  call  it,  that  was  directly  opposed  to  the  prevailing 
practicalness.  Let  us  study  each  for  the  purpose  of  dis- 
covering what  was  his  own  personal  art  and  how  it  af- 
fected the  art  of  others. 

Hals,  then,  the  leader  of  the  Haarlem  School,  we  will 
examine  first,  not  only  because  he  was  the  oldest  of  the 
famous  men  of  the  seventeenth  century,  but  also  because 
his  own  genius  was  so  closely  representative  of  that  of  his 
countrymen.  Of  his  life  there  is  little  to  record.  He 
was  born  in  Antwerp,  in  1584,  but  of  parents  of  good 
Haarlem  stock,  temporarily  driven  from  home  by  the 
vicissitudes  of  the  war.  He  may  have  begun  his  studies 
in  Antwerp,  but  by  1608  was  probably  settled  in  Haar- 
lem. It  must  have  been  about  two  years  later  that  he 
married  a  lady  named  Anneke  Hermanszoon,  for  their 
child,  Harmen  Hals,  was  baptized  on  the  2d  of  Septem- 
ber, 1611.  The  marriage  appears  to  have  been  unfortu- 
nate, a  record,  dated  1616,  showing  that  the  husband  was 


FRANS  HALS 

summoned  and  reprimanded  by  the  magistrates  for 
drunkenness  and  violent  conduct  toward  his  wife.  She 
died  a  few  days  later,  apparently  from  natural  causes, 
and  the  following  year  Hals  married  Lysbeth  Reyniers, 
with  whom  he  lived  for  fifty  years,  bringing  up  a  large 
family.  That  his  conduct  toward  the  first  wife  was  not 
very  seriously  viewed  by  the  community  seems  to  be 
proved  by  the  fact  that  in  1617  and  1618  he  and  his 
brother  Dirck  were  elected  members  of  the  School  of 
Rhetoric.  Later  they  were  elected  to  the  Civic  Guard 
and  to  the  Painters'  Guild  of  St.  Luke  in  Haarlem. 

Like  almost  all  the  artists  of  his  time,  he  was  involved 
in  pecuniar}^  difficulties.  In  1652  a  baker  sued  him  for 
the  amount  of  two  hundred  guilders,  a  debt  incurred  for 
bread  supplied  and  for  small  loans  occasionally  ad- 
vanced. He  obtained  possession  of  the  artist's  movables, 
but  allowed  him  to  continue  in  the  use  of  them.  Ten 
years  later  we  find  Hals,  now  seventy-eight  years  old, 
applying  for  relief  from  the  city  government,  which 
granted  him  one  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  in  quarterly 
instalments.  This  exhausted,  he  renewed  his  applica- 
tion for  public  assistance,  and  was  granted  a  yearly  pen- 
sion of  two  hundred  guilders.  Two  years  later,  on  or 
about  the  26th  of  August,  1666,  he  died  in  his  eighty- 
second  year  and  was  buried  beneath  the  choir  of  the 
Church  of  St.  Bavon  in  Haarlem. 

These  few  circumstances  represent  practically  all  that 
is  known  of  Frans  Hals's  life  as  a  man.  The  main  sug- 
gestion to  be  derived  from  them  is  that  he  was  held  in 
considerable  esteem  by  his  fellow-townsmen.  The  paint- 
ers enrolled  him  in  their  guild;  his  creditor  did  not  un- 

[51] 


THE  STORY  OF  DUTCH  PAINTING 

duly  press  him,  and  the  municipahty  attended  to  the 
needs  of  his  decHning  years.  It  is  fit  to  dwell  on  these 
points,  because  a  tradition,  apparently  started  by  Hou- 
braken,  the  painter-historian  of  the  artists  of  the  period, 
has  clung  about  the  memory  of  Hals,  representing  him 
to  have  been  a  frequenter  of  pot-houses  and  generally 
dissolute.  But,  except  for  the  reprimand  administered 
to  him  in  the  affair  of  his  first  wife,  there  is  nothing 
on  record  to  prove  the  accuracy  of  this  tradition.  One 
is  therefore  permitted  to  believe  that  the  incident  was 
a  single  offense ;  sufficiently  reprehensible,  but  not  to 
be  counted  against  his  whole  life.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  leniency  of  the  baker  and  the  relief  voted  by  the 
municipality  may  be  fairly  taken  as  arguments  against 
the  story  of  his  worthlessness.  But  the  most  reli- 
able evidence  of  its  falsity  is  to  be  found  in  his 
work  as  an  artist.  It  is  inconceivable  that  the  por- 
traits and  character  studies  which  he  executed  in  such 
numbers  could  have  been  produced  by  a  man  whose 
brain  was  fuddled  with  dissipation.  The  verj^  char- 
acter of  his  technique  gives  the  lie  to  such  a  suspicion; 
for,  as  we  shall  see  presently,  it  was  the  product  of 
a  particularly  vigorous  comprehension  of  facts,  and  was 
rendered  in  a  method  extraordinarily  direct  and  sure, 
and  often  under  circumstances  of  great  rapidity.  While 
his  work  is  uneven  in  quality,  it  is  only  toward  the  end 
that  there  is  a  falling  off  in  the  certainty  and  the  com- 
pleteness of  his  technique.  But  the  pathos  that  attaches 
to  the  two  memorable  examfples  of  this  decline,  which  now 
hang  in  the  Haarlem  INIuseum,  the  groups  of  male  and 
female  Regents  of  the  Hospital  for  the  Poor,  is  due  to 


FRANS  HALS 

their  revelation,  not  of  any  premature  loss  of  power,  but 
of  the  sapping  of  vitaKty  which  comes  after  fourscore 
years. 

On  the  other  hand,  it  would  be  fatal  to  a  just  ap])re- 
ciation  of  Hals  to  try  to  shape  him  to  our  modern  no- 
tions of  propriety.  His  character  was  certainly  not 
staid;  it  may  well  have  been,  by  present-day  compari- 
sons, unregulated.  He  was  a  man  of  his  own  time,  and 
the  character  of  his  fellow-citizens  may  be  seen  in  the 
groups  he  has  left  behind  of  the  officers  of  the  Civic 
Guard.  They  were  men  of  vigorous  personality,  of 
strong  passions;  they  lived  high  and,  maybe,  at  times  a 
bit  recklessly.  They  had  faced  death  in  battle,  and  en- 
joyed the  leisure  which  their  own  exertions  had  helped 
to  bring  about.  That  they  enrolled  Hals  in  their  organ- 
ization suggests  that  he  was  a  man  after  their  own  heart. 
He  must  have  been;  otherwise  he  never  could  have 
painted  them  as  he  did,  realizing  at  once  their  individu- 
alities of  character  and  the  general  character  of  enthu- 
siastic good-fellowship  that  united  them.  In  none  of 
these  portraits  is  there  any  hint  of  excess,  but  in  all  the 
declaration  of  conviviality.  It  is  quite  reasonable  to 
assume  that  this  represents  a  truer  portrait  of  the  artist's 
own  personal  character  than  the  one  suggested  by  Hou- 
braken. 

JMoreover,  there  is  another  phase  of  his  character  that 
is  positively  revealed  in  his  work.  It  is  that  of  humor. 
'Whether  he  is  painting  one  of  the  curious  and  sometimes 
discreditable  characters  that  haunted  the  streets  and  re- 
sorts of  Haarlem,  or  the  portrait  of  some  burgomaster, 
fully  alive  to  his  own  importance,  or  recording  the  puis- 

[58] 


THE  STORY  OF  DUTCH  PAINTING 

sance  and  the  pageantry  of  the  mihtary  guilds,  it  is 
always  in  a  genial  mood,  not  seldom  with  manifest  hu- 
mor. In  fact,  if  ever  there  was  an  artist  to  whom,  as 
revealed  in  his  work,  the  epithet  "jolly"  were  appropri- 
ate, it  is  Frans  Hals. 

And  here  we  may  note  a  shrewd  observation  by  the 
German  critic  W.  Bode.  "The  artist's  particular  gift," 
he  says,  "which  we  find  in  nearly  every  one  of  his  por- 
traits, consists  in  his  establishing  a  lively  connection  be- 
tween the  person  or  persons  represented  and  a  supposed 
third  person."  He  does  not  represent  the  individual  or 
group  as  if  posing  for  himself,  but  as  if  he  had  surprised 
them  in  the  presence  of  a  third  person,  or  as  if  he  had  in 
mind  the  impression  that  would  be  produced  in  a  third 
person's  mind  by  the  scene  in  front  of  him.  His  own  point 
of  view,  in  fact,  is  more  than  objective,  more  than  a  recog- 
nition of  direct,  visible  facts ;  it  is  rather  expansive,  draw- 
ing into  the  circumference  of  its  own  observation  the 
points  of  view  and  feeling  of  others  than  himself.  One  may 
almost  say  that  he  has  the  gift  of  revealing  his  person- 
ages not  only  as  they  appeared  to  him,  but  also  as  they 
were  regarded  by  their  contemporaries.  Whether  singly 
or  in  groups,  they  seem  to  be  perfectly  at  home  in  an  at- 
mosphere at  once  sympathetic  and  conducive  to  the  most 
spontaneous  expression  of  their  own  natures.  Thus,  as 
Bode  adds,  "he  has  a  great  gift  of  rendering  any  passing 
moment  of  psychical  agitation." 

Before  proceeding  to  an  analysis  of  his  technique,  we 
may  note  two  other  general  characteristics:  the  vigor 
and  the  imagination  that  it  involves.  An  artist's  tech- 
nique is  a  measure  of  his  personality,  even  though  his 

154^2 


THE  JOLLY  TOPER 


RIJKS  MLSKIM,  AMSTERDAM 


EKANS  HALS 


\ 


FRANS  HALS 

motive  be  as  impersonal  as  Hals's.  The  latter's  point 
of  view  was  objective,  intent  on  seeing  and  rendering  the 
facts  of  things  as  they  confronted  him ;  but,  unhke  many 
objective  painters  whose  technique  presents  merely  a 
correct  and  efficient  record,  because  their  own  mind  is 
little  more  than  a  mirror,  reflecting  mechanically  what  is 
in  front  of  it,  Hals's  mind  was  an  active  vitalizer  of  the 
impressions  that  it  received.  The  distinction  corre- 
sponds pretty  completely  to  the  difference  which  may 
exist  between  two  lecturers.  One  will  give  a  careful 
presentation  of  his  subject  which  we  listen  to  with  inter- 
est, and,  if  we  have  confidence  in  his  ability,  with  a  will- 
ingness to  accept  his  conclusions;  but  another  will  do 
more.  Because  of  the  gusto  with  which  he  attacks  his 
subject,  the  genial,  expansive  outlook  with  which  he  views 
it,  the  broadly  human  spirit  in  which  he  treats  it,  even  be- 
cause of  the  tone  of  voice  and  gesture  of  body  with  which 
he  lends  color  and  warmth  to  his  remarks,  he  will  so  stimu- 
late his  audience  that  they  cease  to  be  mere  listeners. 
Their  own  brains  are  at  work;  they  become  active  par- 
ticipators in  the  train  of  thought.  It  is  in  this  kind  of 
way  that  Hals's  technique  affects  one.  *  It  is  the  product 
of  so  ample  and  genial  an  outlook,  so  teems  with  gusto, 
and  manifests  itself  with  such  an  assurance  of  conviction 
and  so  vigorously  facile  a  style,  that  it  stimulates  the 
imagination.  In  the  presence  of  his  portraits  one  is  no 
passive  spectator,  but  aroused  to  an  activity  of  appre- 
ciation. 

I  have  spoken  of  imagination ;  and  I  mean  to  imply  a 
twofold  exercise  thereof:  that  Hals  himself  exhibited 
imagination  and  kindles  it  also  in  the  spectator.     To 

:35] 


THE  STORY  OF  DUTCH  PAINTING 

some  people  it  may  seem  to  be  an  abuse  of  the  word  to 
speak  of  imagination,  in  the  case  of  an  artist  so  content 
to  be  occupied  with  the  objective  traits  of  his  subject  as 
Hals  was.  But  they  overlook  the  fact  that,  while  an 
artist  may  exercise  no  imagination  in  the  choice  of  a 
subject,  he  may  display  a  great  deal  in  the  rendering  of 
it.  He  may  not  give  reins  to  his  imagination  as  Rem- 
brandt did,  peering  below  the  surface  of  things,  explor- 
ing the  hidden  reces'ses  of  the  human  soul;  he  may,  on 
the  contrary,  be  satisfied*  to  be  an  able  craftsman,  han- 
dling the  material  presented  to  him,  intent  only  on  giv- 
ing to  it  form  and  character ;  yet,  even  so,  he  will  exhibit 
what  one  may  call  a  technical  imagination.  And  it  is 
precisely  this  which  characterizes  the  technique  of  Hals. 
It  appears  in  the  arrangement  of  his  compositions,  espe- 
cially in  the  group-portraits,  where  it  takes  the  form  of 
a  superior  kind  of  inventiveness,  which  is  but  a  phase  of 
imagination.  This  gift  abounds  in  the  corporation  pic- 
tures at  Haarlem.  The  problem  of  disposing  so  many 
figures  in  such  a  way  that  each  shall  have  its  due  share 
of  individual  emphasis,  and  yet  that  the  whole  group 
may  have,  on  the  one  hand,  a  naturalness  and  spontane- 
ity of  suggestion,  and,  on  the  other,  a  reasonable  amount 
of  artistic  unity,  was  one  to  try  to  its  utmost  capacity 
an  artist's  inventiveness.  Hals  was  the  first  to  solve  it ; 
and,  while  other  artists  profited  by  his  example,  none 
could  attain  to  the  completeness  of  his  success.  You 
may  be  thinking  of  Rembrandt's  Syndics  of  the  Cloth 
Ghiild;  but  the  latter's  composition  contains  only  six 
figures,  whereas  in  Hals's  masterpiece.  The  Reunion  of 
the  Officers  of  the  Archers  of  St.  Andrew ^  there  are 

use] 


FRANS  HALS 

fourteen.  For  a  just  comparison  you  should  rather 
choose  Van  der  Heist's  great  composition  in  the  Rijks 
jMuseum,  The  Banquet  of  the  Civic  Guard,  an  amazing 
example  of  inventiveness,  but  lacking  in  the  suppleness, 
spontaneity,  and  gusto  that  Hals  exhibits. 

But  the  latter's  imagination  is  not  alone  displayed  in 
the  management  of  intricate  compositions.  It  is  dis- 
played also  in  the  treatment  of  each  figure  and  in  his 
pictures  of  single  individuals;  manifesting  itself  in  two 
ways,  both  in  the  way  he  has  seen  his  subject  and  in  the 
way  he  has  rendered  it.  And  first  for  the  imaginative 
quality  of  his  vision.  It  is  concerned  with  externals,  or 
at  least  with  traits  of  character  that  lie  close  to  the  sur- 
face; but  with  what  an  alertness  it  has  observed  the 
idiosyncrasy  of  each  person,  and  how  completely  it  has 
comprehended  it!  This  is  more  than  objective  clear- 
sightedness; it  implies  a  capacity  to  reconstruct  the 
retinal  impression,  and  to  clothe  it  with  actual  living  con- 
sciousness, that  involves  a  marked  exercise  of  the  creative 
faculty  of  imagination.  If  you  still  doubt  it,  again  com- 
pare Hals  with  Van  der  Heist,  next  to  himself  the  most 
accomplished  of  the  painters  of  corporation  pictures,  and 
the  verdict  concerning  the  latter's  work  will  surely  be 
that  by  comparison  it  is  prosy.  At  least  that  is  the 
word  that  seems  to  me  to  express  the  difference,  and  it 
conveys  the  suggestion  that  the  work  is  merely  objec- 
tive, unvitalized  by  the  imaginative  faculty. 

Further,  observe  how  Hals  treats  the  costumes  and 
the  accompaniments  of  still-life  in  his  pictures.  He  has 
not  merely  seen  them;  he  has  felt  them,  reahzed  in  his 
imagination  their  distinctive  character  and  their  relation 


THE  STORY  OF  DUTCH  PAINTING 

to  the  whole  impression.  For  those  were  brave  days  in 
Holland,  succeeding  the  expiration  of  the  truce ;  an  un- 
derlying bravery  of  spirit  and  an  external  bravery  of 
demeanor  and  manners  characterized  the  life  of  the 
burghers.  It  was  not  for  nothing  that  their  trade  had 
absorbed  the  finest  weavers  and  artificers  in  the  world; 
they  decked  themselves  and  their  families  in  the  costliest 
fabrics  of  their  looms  and  loaded  their  tables  with  objects 
of  fine  plate.  These  things  were  more  to  them  than  van- 
ities ;  they  were  the  expression  of  the  proud  preeminence 
they  had  won.  Now  it  is  the  spirit  and  the  meaning  of 
all  this  that  Hals  was  so  skilful  in  rendering.  Van  der 
Heist's  displays  of  costume  rather  suggest  that  "fine 
feathers  make  fine  birds,"  while  the  suggestion  of  Hals 
is  of  fine  fellows  appropriately  bedecked  with  finery. 
His  imagination,  in  fact,  had  caught  the  enthusiasm  of 
the  time  and  discovered  its  interpretation.  And,  further 
still,  apart  from  the  relation  which  this  beauty  of  display 
bore  to  the  temper  of  the  times,  it  needs  imagination  in 
an  artist  to  interpret  the  beauty  of  a  fabric  or  an  object 
of  still-life.  Mere  imitation  of  its  appearance  is  not  suf- 
ficient. Such  merely  represents  the  appearance;  it  does 
not  interpret  it.  The  distinction  will  be  clear  to  any  one 
who  is  a  student  of  photography  and  has  seen  the  still- 
life  studies  of  flowers  and  fruit  and  glassware  by  Baron 
A.  de  ^leyer.  In  them  the  crude  notion  of  merely  repre- 
senting appearances  has  been  superseded  by  the  desire  to 
make  the  picture  express  the  enthusiasm  which  their 
beauty  has  inspired.  The  result  is  an  interpretation  of 
the  sentiment  of  beauty.  Such,  too,  is  Hals's  rendering 
of  the  silks  and  velvets  and  lawn  ruffs,  the  dishes  and 

CSS] 


PORTRAIT  OF  NICOLAES  VAN  DER  MEER 
BURGOMASTER  OF  HAARLEM 

HAARLEM  MLSKIM 


FRANS  HALS 


FRANS  HALS 

goblets,  the  fruit  and  wine,  banners  and  weapons.  He 
has  not  only  seen  these  things,  he  has  felt  their  beauty; 
discovered,  in  fact,  by  an  act  of  imagination,  the  senti-/ 
ment  of  beauty  they  involve. 

And  here  I  may  add,  in  the  way  of  anticipation,  that, 
if  a  person  is  dull  to  the  sentiment  of  beauty  that  things 
inanimate  may  suggest,  he  is  not  going  to  proceed  very 
far  toward  an  appreciation  of  the  art  of  Holland  in  the 
seventeenth  century,  for  it  was  largely  concerned  with 
the  beauty  that  is  inherent  in  material  things.  If  he  is 
conscious  of  nothing  more  in  the  rendering  of  costumes 
and  accessories  with  which  these  pictures  abound  than 
the  cleverness  of  material  representation,  he  will  soon 
tire  of  the  study,  for  the  skilfulness  is  so  frequently  re- 
peated, and  its  very  repetition  will  fatigue.  He  may 
begin  by  exclaiming:  "How  wonderfully  that  sash,  this 
velvet  gown,  or  what  not  is  painted!"  but,  unless  he  can 
go  on  and  share  the  enthusiasm  for  beauty  that  inspired 
and  assured  the  artist's  skill;  if,  in  a  word,  his  own  imag- 
ination cannot  conspire  with  the  imagination  of  the  art- 
ist, he  will  very  shortly  be  an  exceedingly  tired  student 
of  Holland  art. 

So  far  we  have  discussed  the  imagination  with  which 
Hals  observed  his  subjects ;  it  remains  to  note  how  imag- 
ination M'as  involved  in  the  rendering  of  them.  Really 
the  two  processes,  the  mental  and  the  manual,  are  inex- 
tricably united,  for  it  was  the  way  he  felt  his  subject  that 
determined  the  impression  he  received  of  it,  and  the  im- 
pression itself  that  suggested  the  mode  of  rendering  it. 
Yes,  he  was  an  Impressionist.  The  term,  as  we  know, 
is  modern,  dating  from  about  1871,  but  the  idea  involved 


THE  STORY  OF  DUTCH  PAINTING 

in  it  has  been  derived  from  the  example  of  Frans  Hals 
and  of  his  great  contemporary  Velasquez,  with  whom, 
however,  so  far  as  is  known,  he  had  no  possible  chance 
of  conferring.  These  two  original  minds,  separated  by 
distance  and  the  difference  of  race  and  by  the  barrier  of 
hostilities  that  precluded  any  acquaintance  with  each 
other  or  each  other's  work,  were  nevertheless  kindred 
geniuses  who  simultaneously  discovered  a  new  way  of 
seeing  and  rendering  their  subject.  It  did  not  survive 
•their  generation,  for  the  artists  of  the  next  century 
turned  again  to  Italy,  and  Hals  and  Velasquez  were 
practically  forgotten,  until  in  the  early  sixties  of  the 
nineteenth  century  Edouard  INIanet  rediscovered  Velas- 
quez, and  the  study  of  him  led  to  the  recognition  of  Hals, 
so  that  both  became  an  example  and  inspiration  to 
modern  art.  It  produced,  in  fact,  a  revolution  in  the 
artist's  point  of  view  and  method  of  painting,  and  the 
principle  involved  was  dubbed  Impressionism. 

Some  confusion  still  exists  as  to  what  is  implied  by 
this  term.  JNIany,  for  example,  having  heard  that  Claude 
jMonet  is  an  Impressionist  and  obsen^ing  that  he 
covers  his  pictures  with  little  dabs  of  paint,  suppose  that 
in  this  consists  Impressionism.  Others  of  wider  observa- 
tion, having  found  themselves  puzzled  and  even  out- 
raged by  the  vagaries  in  paint  that  are  committed  under 
cover  of  Impressionism,  have  concluded  that  Impres- 
sionism is  something  which,  in  the  words  of  the  late 
Lord  Dundreary,  "No  fellah  can  understand";  no  lay- 
man, at  least ;  and,  according  to  their  temperament,  they 
either  foam  at  the  mouth  with  disgust  of  Impressionism 
or  regard  it  as  a  comparatively  harmless  form  of  lunacy. 
[60] 


FRANS  HALS 

In  either  case  they  miss  the  fact  that  Impressionism  has 
become  a  vital  principle  of  modern  thought,  expressing 
itself  not  only  in  the  arts:  in  painting,  sculpture,  litera- 
ture, play-writing,  acting,  music,  and  dancing,  but  also 
in  modern  methods  of  education,  and,  by  a  natural  ex- 
tension of  the  idea  involved,  even  in  the  modern  attitude 
toward  matters  of  criminology  and  sanitation.  These, 
however,  are  modern  evolutions  from  the  single,  simple 
principle  involved  in  the  Impressionism  of  Hals  and 
Velasquez.  Before  discussing  this,  let  us  note  what  is 
surely  interesting  and  extremely  suggestive,  namely, 
that  both  the  rudimentary  principle,  as  it  appears  in 
Hals,  and  the  efflorescence  to  which  it  attained  in  the 
nineteenth  century  were  contemporary  with  a  signal 
advance  in  the  growth  of  the  scientific  spirit.  It  is,  in 
fact,  of  the  latter  that  Impressionism  is  a  phase. 

With  Hals,  as  with  modern  Impressionists,  it  repre- 
sents a  more  natural  way  of  seeing.  When  the  eye  is 
directed  toward  an  object,  it  sees  the  latter  as  a  whole; 
it  perceives  some  details  and  fails  to  perceive  others;  it 
automatically  selects  and  eliminates.  There  is  another 
way  of  seeing,  as  when  the  object  is  kept  for  a  long  time 
under  observation,  and  the  eye  travels  over  it  at  leisure 
and  exhaustively  examines  every  part.  Of  a  picture 
that  records  the  results  of  this  way  of  seeing,  we  ex- 
claim, "How  realistic!"  And  so  in  a  sense  it  is;  but,  on 
the  other  hand,  we  know  that  it  does  not  really  represent 
the  way  in  which  we  see  things  in  every-day  life.  What 
our  eye  usually  records  is  not  an  inventory  of  details, 
but  a  summarized  impression  of  a  personality;  and  the 
more  vivid  the  impression,  the  less  likely  is  it  to  be  dis- 


THE  STORY  OF  DUTCH  PAINTING 

tracted  by  a  number  of  details.  We  are  impressed  by 
the  general  significance  of  the  personality,  and  note  only 
those  details  that  most  contribute  to  it;  the  details  that 
are  themselves  most  significant  and  characteristic.  Such 
was  Hals's  way  of  seeing  his  subject;  and,  if  it  resulted 
in  a  very  vivid  impression  in  the  case  of  an  individual 
portrait,  how  much  more  when  it  embraced  the  compli- 
cated impression  of  a  group !  The  latter,  as  a  matter  of 
fact,  does  include  more  than  any  eye  could  possibly 
embrace  in  a  single  act  of  vision ;  but  this  was  a  necessary 
concession  to  the  difficulties  of  the  problem,  which  was  to 
effect  a  compromise  between  the  conflicting  claims,  on 
the  one  hand,  of  the  group  as  a  whole,  and,  on  the  other, 
of  each  of  the  individual  units  composing  it.  Admitting 
the  need  of  this  reconciliation  of  opposites,  we  can 
scarcely  hesitate  to  acknowledge  the  vividness  of  the 
total  impression  and  the  no  less  vivid  impression  of  each 
one  of  its  component  units. 

When  we  analyze  the  principle  of  this  method  of  see- 
ing, it  is  found  to  be  that  of  relativity.  In  selecting  this 
or  rejecting  that  the  artist  has  been  guided  by  its  more 
or  less  of  value  in  relation  to  the  whole.  The  composi- 
tion, in  fact,  is  an  adjusted  balance  of  varieties  of  values; 
an  interlocked  scheme  of  mutual  relations ;  shrewdly  cal- 
culated to  assert  the  significance  of  the  whole  without 
undue  impairment  of  the  varying  character  of  the  parts. 
And  this  principle,  thus  applied  to  the  whole  composition, 
operates  also  in  the  treatment  of  every  part.  Whether 
it  be  the  folds  of  a  sash,  the  modeling  of  an  arm  in  a 
sleeve,  the  substance  and  set  of  a  ruff,  or  the  construction 
of  a  face,  each  is  attained  by  observing  the  relation  of  the 
C623 


FRANS  HALS 

values.  In  this  case,  however,  one  uses  values,  not  to 
measure  the  amount  of  relative  importance  that  they  play 
in  the  general  scheme,  but  in  the  technical  sense  of  the 
amount  and  quality  of  light  reflected  from  the  several 
facets  of  the  surface.  Hals  chose  to  view  his  subject  in 
a  diffused  light  that  permitted  practically  no  shadows, 
but  reduced  the  whole  to  a  tissue  of  more  light  and  less 
light,  of  higher  and  lower  values.  While  this  sounds  like 
the  method  of  the  modern  plein-air  painters,  which  has 
been  evolved  from  the  example  of  Hals  and  Velasquez, 
it  is  not  quite  the  same ;  for  Hals  does  not  represent  the 
light  as  being  independent  of  the  figures  and  enveloping 
them,  but  still  adheres  to  the  old  convention  of  making 
the  figure  itself  a  center  of  light,  as,  for  instance,  a  lamp 
is.  Thus  in  one  of  his  groups,  where  a  window  appears 
at  the  back,  the  light  beyond  it  is  of  lower  value  than  that 
which  illumines  the  figures;  and,  in  another  case,  a 
landscape  presents  a  darker  background.  But,  having 
adopted  this  convention,  he  adheres  to  the  logic  of  it, 
and,  like  the  modern  painter  who  has  followed  his  exam- 
ple, but  with  the  difference  that  he  tries  to  represent  the 
effect  of  plein-air^  models  his  forms  in  colored  light  by 
the  juxtaposition  of  the  various  values. 

And  it  is  characteristic  of  Hals  that  in  doing  this  he 
overlooks  minute  distinctions  of  value,  seizing  only  the 
most  salient  ones  and  laying  them  on  the  canvas  with  a 
broad  brush  and  a  remarkable  decision.  Thus  his  tech- 
nique presents  a  bold  and  vigorous  generalization  of  the 
values;  often  conspicuous  for  what  it  omits,  as  when  he 
indicates  the  back  of  a  hat  or  a  ruff  by  a  flat  tone  that  is 
almost  uninterrupted  by  contrasting  tones.  It  is  a  tech- 


THE  STORY  OF  DUTCH  PAINTING 

nique,  in  fact,  that  relies  very  largely  on  suggestion ;  hence 
its  stimulating  character,  for  one's  o-vvn  imagination  is 
invited  to  assist  in  the  illusion. 

Nor  does  this  suggestive  generahzation  involve  the 
slovenliness  or  crudeness  of  brushwork  that  often  dis- 
figures the  modern  impressionistic  picture.  While  a  can- 
vas by  Hals  should  be  viewed  from  some  distance  off,  it 
does  not  offend  at  close  range.  On  the  contrary,  one 
can  enjoy  the  orderliness  and  finesse,  the  result  of  fiu- 
ency  and  assurance,  that  the  brushwork  reveals,  the 
ensemble  having  that  quality  of  perfected  craftsmanship 
which  characterizes  the  whole  Holland  School.  And, 
though  Hals  is  scarcely  to  be  classed  as  a  colorist,  the 
compositions  being  decked  with  color  rather  than  inter- 
woven of  color,  yet  his  color  has  a  distinctly  positive 
charm.  For  he  takes  so  frank  a  delight  in  local  colors, 
whether  gravely  or  gaily  sumptuous,  preserves  their 
purity  of  hue  and  invests  them  with  luminousness.  His 
color-schemes,  too,  have  this  distinction,  that,  for  all  their 
bravery  of  show,  they  are  never  commonplace  and  sel- 
dom without  a  clear  suggestion  of  virility. 

A  unique  opportunity  of  tracing  the  development  of 
his  style  is  presented  by  the  series  of  corporation  pictures 
at  Haarlem.  I  will  not  attempt  a  detailed  description 
of  each,  but  rather  recall  the  impressions  that  were  jotted 
down  in  the  presence  of  them.  The  earliest,  then,  is  The 
Banquet  of  the  Officers  of  the  Archers  of  St.  George, 
dated  1616,  when  Hals  was  thirty-two.  How  magnifi- 
cent the  display  of  still-life,  the  table-cloth,  fruit,  dishes, 
and  goblets  painted  with  such  skill  and  evident  delight; 
what  a  vigorous  enthusiasm  is  manifested  in  the  treat- 
[64] 


FRANS  HALS 

meiit  of  the  uniforms,  mostly  black,  and  the  scarfs  of 
white  and  crimson  silk!  Each  head  is  strongly  charac- 
terized, and  so  are  the  hands.  The  heads  are  so  disposed 
that  they  form  a  band  across  the  picture,  below  which 
another  band  contains  the  more  sprinkled  arrangement 
of  the  hands.  Two  of  the  latter,  close  together  near  the 
center  of  the  table,  form  the  nucleus  from  which  the  lines 
of  the  composition  radiate.  The  composition,  in  fact,  is 
quite  formal,  and  the  heads,  one  notices,  are  lighted  from 
the  side  and  constructed  of  shadow  as  well  as  light; 
meanwliile  no  light  comes  in  from  the  window  at  the 
back,  through  which  appears  a  landscape,  less  vividly 
lighted  than  the  scene  indoors.  Indeed,  the  whole  ar- 
rangement is  still  influenced  by  the  arbitrary  devices  of 
the  studio ;  nor  does  one  fail  to  note  that  the  space  occu- 
pied by  the  heads  is  flattened  almost  into  one  plane,  as 
a  modern  photographic  group  is  apt  to  be. 

These  points  are  emphasized  by  a  comparison  with 
Nos.  117  and  118,  painted  eleven  years  later.  The 
Banquet  of  the  Officers  of  the  Archers  of  St.  George, 
this  time,  is  presented  in  an  interior  without  a  window 
visible.  The  whole  apartment  seems  to  be  filled  with 
lighted  air;  the  heads  are  no  longer  so  obviously  ar- 
ranged to  secure  a  contrast  of  dark  against  light  and 
light  against  dark ;  they  are  evenly  illuminated,  and  take 
their  places  justly  in  their  several  planes.  For  the  planes 
here  extend  farther  back,  and  the  composition  is  more 
varied,  with  less  suggestion  of  studied  artfulness.  More- 
over, the  treatment  of  the  costumes  has  become  finer,  the 
blacks  especially  yielding  a  varietj^  of  delightful  grays 
that  give  increased  sparkle  and  animation  to  the  color- 
[65] 


THE  STORY  OF  DUTCH  PAINTING 

scheme.  The  flesh  parts  also  are  more  luminous,  and 
reveal  a  greater  fluency  of  brushwork,  as  if  the  artist  had 
"got  there"  with  more  ease  and  rapidity.  The  effect  of 
all  this  is  very  arresting  and  satisfying  until  one  exam- 
ines The  Banquet  of  the  Officers  of  the  Archers  of  St. 
Andrew. 

The  latter  belongs  to  the  same  year,  1627;  but  the 
artist  has  surpassed  himself.  Here  the  faces  literally 
scintillate  with  animation  of  color.  Those  of  the  other 
picture  are  discovered  by  comparison  to  be  less  illumi- 
nated ;  after  all,  they  have  been  modeled  to  some  extent 
with  shadow,  and  the  flesh  in  parts  is  inclined  to  be 
greenish  gray  or  drab.  The  hands  also  in  the  latter  pic- 
ture have  more  expression  and  a  more  individual  charac- 
terization, while  the  gestures  are  more  natural  and  spon- 
taneous. The  composition,  too,  is  at  once  more  varied 
and  more  coordinated.  Again,  as  in  both  the  previous 
pictures,  the  nucleus  of  it  is  a  hand;  in  this  case  the 
center  of  two  diagonal  axes.  But,  while  the  design  is 
geometrical,  the  naturalness  of  the  grouping  is  quite 
extraordinary  in  its  mingling  of  ease  and  propriet}^ 
Further,  the  color  masses  are  more  inventively  arranged ; 
their  spotting  is  more  effectively  distributed,  and  the 
gaiety  of  the  color  is  prolonged  into  the  lower  part  of  the 
composition.  This  picture  commemorates  the  banquet 
given  by  the  corps  on  the  eve  of  its  departure  to  the  siege 
of  Hasselt  and  INIons.  Six  years  later  Hals  painted  a 
Reunion  of  the  same  corps,  though  only  one  member  ap- 
pears in  both  scenes.  It  is  Captain  Johan  Schatter,  who 
in  the  earlier  picture  is  seated  in  front  of  the  table,  facing 
left.  He  occupies  the  same  position  in  the  later  group, 
[66] 


(X    * 

G   5 
<  :2 


FRANS  HALS 

but  is  now  standing  and  looking  over  his  shoulder  toward 
the  spectator.  He  has  exchanged  his  costume  of  black 
and  golden  brown,  with  its  scarf  of  rose  and  white,  for 
a  snuff -colored  jerkin,  pearl-gray  under-coat,  and  a  sky- 
blue  sash  and  feather;  and  the  difference  is  reflected  in 
the  superior  delicacy  of  color  that  distinguishes  the  later 
.picture. 

In  this  Reunion  of  the  Officers  of  the  Archers  of  St. 
Andrew  the  corporation  pictures  reach  their  highest 
water-mark.  The  background,  however,  of  brownish- 
olive  foliage,  showing  through  an  opening  some  red 
roofs  against  the  sky,  is  dry  in  color  and  lacking  in  lumi- 
nosity. The  heads,  in  consequence,  do  not  present  the 
same  suggestion  of  being  enveloped  in  light  as  those  in 
the  previous  picture.  In  what,  then,  does  the  superiority 
of  this  acknowledged  masterpiece  consist?  Comparing 
it  with  the  earlier  examples,  we  discover  that  its  color- 
scheme  of  blue  and  amber,  while  less  resplendent,  is  more 
choice,  delicate,  and  subtle,  and  that  the  loveliness  of 
color  has  been  made  contributory  to  the  characterization 
of  the  figures.  This  is  scarcely  to  be  appreciated  from 
the  photographic  reproduction,  but  in  presence  of  the 
original  one  has  a  lively  sense  of  it.  There  is  no  sugges- 
tion of  the  display  of  color  having  been  considered  by 
itself  or  as  itself  an  end;  the  tonal  harmony  so  accords 
with  the  harmony  of  expression  that  characterizes  the 
separate  individualities  of  the  group  that  tone  and  ex- 
pression are  in  complete  unity.  Again,  as  a  result  or, 
more  probably,  a  cause  of  this  harmony  of  expression, 
there  is  a  complete  simplicity  of  attitude  and  gesture. 
"What  shall  I  do  with  my  hands?"    Any  one  who  has 


THE  STORY  OF  DUTCH  PAINTING 

stage-managed  amateur  theatricals  knows  how  fre- 
quently this  question  is  asked  by  the  performers.  In  nine 
cases  out  of  ten  the  best  advice,  though  the  hardest  to 
follow,  is  to  do  nothing.  It  is  just  the  fact  that  the  mem- 
bers of  this  group  are  so  admirably  doing  nothing  which 
gives  at  once  such  a  naturalness  and  so  high  a  distinction 
to  this  picture. 

Here,  in  fact,  we  touch  perhaps  the  clue  to  the  whole 
superiority  of  this  canvas.  In  one  word,  it  is  control; 
that  almost  unconscious  self-control  on  the  artist's  part 
which  results  from  his  consciousness  of  assured  capacity. 
He  has  won  beyond  the  point  of  experiment,  beyond  the 
later  temptation  to  indulge  in  display  of  knowledge  and 
skill ;  he  has  so  absolutely  acquired  both  and  attuned  the 
one  to  the  other,  that  the  tricks  and  devices  of  his  craft 
no  longer  sway  his  imagination;  he  shows,  in  fact,  his 
mastery  not  so  much  by  what  he  does  as  by  what  he  with- 
holds; he  has  reached  in  this  great  work  a  plane  of  ex- 
traordinary artistic  conscientiousness.  The  picture,  in 
fact,  has  that  appearance  of  inevitableness,  that  sugges- 
tion of  having  grown  rather  than  of  having  been  made, 
which  is  the  highest  expression  of  genius.  It  represents 
Hals  at  his  zenith.  The  date  is  1633  and  the  artist's  age 
forty-nine. 

The  next  picture,  Officers  of  the  Archers  of  St. 
George,  is  dated  1639,  six  years  later.  It  is  conspicu- 
ously inferior  not  only  to  the  masterpiece  (that  were 
excusable),  but  to  all  the  preceding  works.  It  repre- 
sents a  falling  off  not  so  much  in  actual  craftsmanship 
as  in  artistic  morality.  The  artist  appears  to  have  been 
satisfied  to  do  less  well  than  he  could;  to  do,  in  fact,  as 


FRANS  HALS 

little  as  he  might.  He  has  saved  himself  expenditure  of 
invention  in  the  composition  by  stringing  the  figures 
out  in  a  line  across  the  front,  and  raising  another  line  of 
figures  behind  them;  this  having  been  the  niggard,  un- 
imaginative arrangement  of  the  older  corporation  pic- 
tures, from  which  his  other  work  had  presented  so  happy 
a  departure.  Correspondingly  the  heads,  while  forcible 
in  characterization,  are  lacking  in  luminosity,  and  the 
fabrics  are  without  vivacity.  The  general  effect  is 
stockish;  the  breath  of  life  and  of  art,  as  Hals  could 
suggest  both,  is  absent. 

Nor  in  the  next  picture,  dated  two  years  later,  the 
Regents  of  the  Hospital  of  St.  Elizabeth,  do  we  detect 
the  true  Frans  Hals.  The  faces  are  trickily  modeled, 
brilliant  high  lights  being  contrasted  with  heavy  green- 
ish-drab shadows;  and  the  figures  are  lumpish,  except 
the  second  from  the  right,  which  alone  reveals  sympathy 
and  enthusiasm. 

Of  the  last  two  groups  nothing  need  be  said  but  that 
they  are  the  work  of  a  veteran  of  eighty  years,  whose 
hand  has  lost  its  cunning,  while  his  brain,  no  longer  ac- 
tive, retains  only  some  wavering  recollections  of  its  orig- 
inal activity. 

The  important  point  to  be  suggested  in  conclusion  is 
that  Hals's  best  period  included  the  years  from  1625  to 
1635;  that  after  the  latter  period  this  enthusiasm  waned, 
and  his  work  became  too  often  perfunctory.  In  such 
cases  the  flesh  parts  exhibit  an  uninspired  use  of  green 
lower  tones  that  have  a  tendency  to  become  drab ;  features 
are  often  crudely  emphasized  by  a  stroke  or  dab  of  ex- 
aggerated value,  and  luminosity  has  faded  into  a  dull, 

n693 


THE  STORY  OF  DUTCH  PAINTING 

sometimes  lumpish  inertness.  Even  so,  however,  compared 
with  the  work  of  other  Hollanders,  apart  from  Rem- 
brandt, it  still  had  a  quality  and  a  character  that  render 
it  distinguished ;  but  much  of  this  distinction  disappears 
when  j'-ou  compare  him  with  himself,  the  later  with  the 
earlier  Hals.  Many  of  his  portraits  suggest  the  per- 
f  unctoriness  of  a  man  who  has  got  his  method  down  pat, 
and  tediously  repeats  it.  In  a  word,  his  technique  was 
so  personal  and  so  dependent  upon  the  mood  of  the  mo- 
ment that  it  needed  the  stimulus  of  enthusiasm,  and 
when  this  was  absent,  the  vitality  of  the  technique  be- 
came impaired. 


C70] 


CHAPTER  V 

REMBRANDT  HARMENSZ  VAN  RUN 

IT  is  surely  no  accident  that  the  name  of  Rembrandt 
is  familiar  to  thousands  who  know  little  or  nothing 
of  his  art.  It  has,  in  fact,  become  so  embedded  in 
the  mental  consciousness  of  modern  times,  that,  even  as 
it  must  have  been  a  household  word  in  his  own  day,  so 
almost  it  has  grown  to  be  in  ours.  And  for  this  there 
seem  to  be  two  reasons.  In  the  very  use  of  the  word 
"household"  there  is  a  hint  of  one:  the  homely,  in  the 
sense  of  plain  and  simple,  and  very  heartfelt  appeal  that 
his  conception  of  the  subject-matter  generally  makes 
to  the  imagination.  But  there  is  another  reason  and  a 
greater.  It  is  the  magnitude  of  his  personality  as  an 
artist.  This  was  but  dimly  recognized  in  his  own  day, 
in  the  succeeding  century  forgotten,  and  is  only  begin- 
ning to  be  fully  understood  in  our  own  times.  The  in- 
fluence with  which  he  fertilized  art  was  to  prove  so  great, 
that  it  needed  a  long  period  of  gestation  before  it  came 
to  birth,  and  a  correspondingly  long  period  of  develop- 
ment before  it  reached  maturity.  Now  it  has  grown  to 
be  recognized  and  felt,  until,  like  all  the  great  contribu- 
tions to  human  ideas,  it  is,  so  to  say,  in  the  air.  Unwit- 
tingly as  well  as  by  conviction  the  world  is  conscious  of 
it.  Briefly,  the  nature  of  the  influence  is  that  it  has  revo- 
lutionized our  attitude  toward  beauty.    It  has  not  elim- 

C7in 


THE  STORY  OF  DUTCH  PAINTING 

inated  the  old  idea  of  beauty,  but  supplemented  it  with 
a  newer  one,  no  less  potent  and  far  more  adapted  to  our 
modern  needs.  The  absolutism  of  the  classic  ideal  has 
been  overthrown  by  it.  Art,  that  once  was  solely  aristo- 
cratic, has  been  expanded  to  include  the  democratic  ideal. 
It  was  therefore  necessary  for  the  world  to  have  mas- 
tered the  latter,  as  a  principle  of  life  and  conduct,  before 
it  could  be  capable  of  appreciating  Rembrandt  to  the 
full. 

For  Rembrandt's  art  is  the  antithesis  of  Greek  art. 
The  Greek  is  founded  upon  a  hypothesis,  upon  the  as- 
sumption of  a  possible  perfection ;  Rembrandt's  upon  an 
acceptance  of  imperfection,  upon  the  facts  of  life  in 
relation  to  things  as  they  exist.  The  one  is  based  upon 
an  artificially  constructed  absolutism,  and  is  technically 
expressed  through  form — form,  absolute  and  supreme. 
The  other,  in  its  recognition  of  the  relativity  of  every- 
thing in  life,  is  based  upon  tone,  as  affected  by  its  envi- 
ronment of  light.  The  difference  is  fundamental  both  in 
its  technical  and  psychological  aspect. 

As  long  as  society  was  conditioned  by  the  aristocratic 
theory,  Greek  art,  and  the  Renaissance  interpretation  of 
its  principles,  sufficed;  but,  with  the  growth  and  spread 
of  the  democratic,  a  new  principle  became  necessary. 
Rembrandt  conceived  it,  and  our  own  age  is  learning  to 
apply  it.  Our  appreciation  of  the  character  of  beauty 
has  become  enlarged  by  a  realization  of  the  beauty  of 
character.  The  latter  may  be  associated  with  beauty  of 
form  and  features,  though  in  real  life  it  is  more  often 
not;  yet,  even  when  it  is,  we  have  discovered  that  the 
beauty  of  character  is  due,  not  to  the  form  itself,  but  to 

1:723 


REMBRANDT  HARMENSZ  VAN  RUN 

the  expression  inherent  in  the  form,  and  that  character, 
as  revealed  by  expression,  is  discernible  also  in  things 
homely,  even  in  the  ugly.  Art,  in  fact,  has  extended  its 
province  until  it  more  nearly  corresponds  with  the  uni- 
versal scheme  of  earthly  conditions,  wherein  the  good  is 
mingled  with  the  bad,  and  the  sun  shines  alike  on  the 
just  and  the  unjust.  Meanwhile,  even  as  humanity 
gropes  toward  some  divine  reconciliation  of  the  coexis- 
tence of  evil  with  good,  so  art  must  find  some  means  of 
spiritualizing  the  facts  of  life  and  of  idealizing  the  homely 
and  ugly.    This  preeminently  was  Rembrandt's  gift. 

The  few  known  facts  of  Rembrandt's  life  are  clearly 
associated  with  his  art.  Born  on  the  15th  of  July,  1606, 
in  Leyden,  he  was  the  son  of  Harmen  of  the  Rhine,  a 
miller  in  comfortable  circumstances.  He  was  sent  to  a 
Latin  school  as  a  preparation  for  entrance  into  the  Uni- 
versity of  Leyden,  that  "when  he  became  of  age  he  might 
serve  the  city  and  the  republic  with  his  knowledge."  But 
he  was  destined  to  serve  them  in  another  way.  Since  he 
showed  no  taste  for  Latin  and  a  single  desire  to  be  an 
artist,  he  was  removed  from  school  and  placed  with  the 
local  painter,  Jacob  van  Swanenburch.  He  was  then 
about  twelve  years  old,  and  after  spending  three  years 
with  this  teacher  had  made  such  progress  that  the  father 
decided  to  send  him  to  Amsterdam  to  study  under  Pieter 
Lastman,  whose  pictures  of  religious  subjects  had  made 
him  the  most  popular  painter  of  that  day. 

With  this  master  Rembrandt  remained  only  six 
months.  Lastman's  influence,  however,  had  been  con- 
siderable, though  scarcely  in  a  direct  way.    In  fact,  what 


THE  STORY  OF  DUTCH  PAINTING 

he  did  for  Rembrandt  was  to  pass  on  to  the  latter  the  in- 
fluence which  he  himself  had  derived  from  Elsheimer 
during  a  two  years'  stay  in  Rome.  For  this  German 
painter  had  made  a  great  reputation  by  treating  Bib- 
lical subjects  in  the  natural  or  anti-classic  manner.  The 
scene  was  suggested  by  the  Italian  landscape,  and  the 
personages  were  real  men  and  women,  clothed  in  ordi- 
nary costume  of  the  period.  It  is  this  translation  of  the 
Bible  story  into  the  vernacular  of  the  day,  corresponding 
as  it  did  to  the  motive  of  Lucas  van  Leyden  in  his  pic- 
ture at  Leyden  of  The  Last  Judgment,  which  must  have 
been  familiar  to  Rembrandt,  that  affected  the  latter's 
imagination. 

He  returned  to  Leyden  and  for  seven  years  in  his 
father's  house  continued  a  course  of  self-study.  It  was 
based  on  direct  study  from  life,  his  models  being  him- 
self and  his  relations,  and  included  (where  again  one 
may  trace  the  influence  of  Lucas  van  Leyden)  the  prac- 
tice of  etching.  The  earliest  date  recorded  of  any  of 
these  products  of  his  needle  is  1628,  which  appears  on 
An  Old  Woman's  Head,  Full  Face,  seen  only  to  the 
Chin,  and  Bust  of  an  Old  Woman}  In  1624  appeared 
another  dated  etching,  Rembrandt,  a  Bust,  and  the  fol- 
lowing year  a  series  of  small  plates  for  which  he  himself 
was  the  model:  Rembrandt  with  an  Open  Mouth;  with 
an  Air  of  Grimace;  with  Haggard  Eyes,  and  Laughing. 

These  prints  give  a  remarkable  clue  to  a  phase  of 
Rembrandt's  personality  that  has  not  been  sufficiently 
emphasized.     They  show  that  it  included  the  instinct 

1  The  topic  of  this  book  being  painting,  Rembrandt's  fecundity  and  genius  as 
an  etcher  have  not  been  considered. 

[74] 


REMBRANDT  HARMENSZ  VAN  RUN 

and  faculty  of  an  actor;  the  consciousness  that  in  his 
body  he  possessed  a  muscular  instrument  capable  of  ex- 
pressing the  emotions  of  the  mind;  and,  moreover,  the 
capacity  to  play  upon  it.  This  throws  a  new  light  upon 
the  habit,  exhibited  at  intervals  throughout  his  life,  of 
making  portraits  of  himself  and  frequently  in  costume. 
The  latter  particular  is  apt  to  be  dismissed  as  a  harm- 
less pleasantry,  whereas  it  should  rather  be  considered 
extraordinarily  suggestive.  For  he  was  not  merely 
"dressing  up,"  but  enacting  a  part  in  his  own  person; 
actually  realizing  in  his  body  the  idea  that  possessed  his 
mind.  That  he  could  do  this  and  needed  to  do  it  for 
the  satisfaction  of  his  own  mental  and  physical  impulses, 
helps  to  explain  his  extraordinary  facility  and  power  as 
a  draftsman.  For  the  virtue  of  great  drawing  consists 
in  its  quality  of  expression,  in  its  ability  to  infuse  feeling 
into  a  gesture  or  movement  and  so  correlate  the  latter  to 
the  mood  of  mind,  presumed  to  be  dominating  the  sub- 
ject. This  virtue  cannot  be  gained  at  second  hand  from 
a  model;  it  must  be  inherent  in  the  artist  himself,  and 
will  be  efficient  according  to  the  degree  in  which  the 
artist  can  feel  the  emotion  in  himself  and  is  capable  of 
physically  expressing  it;  in  a  word,  to  the  degree  in 
which  he  possesses  the  instinct  of  an  actor.  Viewed  in 
this  light  Rembrandt's  habit  of  grimacing  before  a  mir- 
ror, dressing  up  and  posturing,  gives  a  most  illuminating 
clue  to  the  source  of  his  amazing  versatility  and  capacity 
of  expression  as  a  draftsman. 

In  the  same  year,  1630,  which  produced  the  small 
prints,  appeared  also  two  "serious"  etchings  of  himself; 
also  two  Biblical  subjects,  Jesus  Disputing  with  the 
[75] 


THE  STORY  OF  DUTCH  PAINTING 

Doctors  and  The  Presentation  with  the  Angel;  and,  fur- 
ther, several  fine  portrait  studies.  In  this  year  he  moved 
to  Amsterdam. 

He  was  twenty-four  years  old,  and,  as  far  as  etching 
is  concerned,  "was  already  in  the  peculiar  situation,"  I 
quote  from  Hamerton,  "of  an  artist  who  has  left  himself 
no  room  for  improvement  except  in  attempting  art  of 
another  kind,  and  in  overcoming  new,  though  possibly 
not  greater,  difficulties."  Among  the  oil-paintings  that 
he  had  already  executed  are  St.  Paul  (Stuttgart)  ;  St. 
Jerome  in  a  Cave  (Berlin)  ;  two  portraits  of  old  men 
(Cassel)  ;  and  one  of  a  young  man,  resembling  himself, 
at  The  Hague.  It  was  the  fame  of  his  portraits  that, 
according  to  Orlers,  brought  invitations  from  Amster- 
dam to  settle  there ;  and  during  the  first  years  of  his  so- 
journ over  a  shop  on  the  Bloemgracht  he  executed  six 
that  are  still  in  existence.  But  the  most  remarkable  pic- 
ture of  this  year  is  the  St.  Siineon  in  the  Temple,  now  in 
the  Gallery  of  The  Hague.  Here  we  detect  for  the  first 
time  the  power  and  strangeness  of  Rembrandt's  imag- 
ination, displayed  in  the  mysteriously  lighted  expanse  of 
mammoth  architecture  and  in  lustrous  fabrics,  and,  more 
essentially,  the  foretaste  of  his  lifelong  effort  to  con- 
struct a  composition  out  of  colored  light.  ^  It  is  the  first 
revelation  of  his  peculiarly  individual  self. 

Meanwhile  he  had  been  attending  the  anatomy  classes 
of  the  famous  Dr.  Tulp,  and  the  following  year,  1632, 
produced  the  Hague  picture,  The  Lesson  in  Anatomy, 
as  remarkable  for  clearly  defined  characterization  as  the 

^  Compare  the  reference  on  page  103  to  the  series  of  Biblical  subjects,  ex- 
ecuted in  1633,  which  are  now  in  the  Munich  Gallery. 

11^1 


REMBRANDT  HARMENSZ  VAN  RUN 

St.  Simeon  had  been  for  its  imaginative  treatment  of 
light.  Both  have  elements  of  indecision,  for  the  artist 
was  only  twenty-six,  but  in  them  the  qualities  of  Rem- 
brandt's personality  are  already  established. 

The  Lesson  brought  him  fame.  Pupils  flocked  to  his 
studio,  clients  sought  his  pictures,  and  the  ten  years  that 
followed  teemed  with  productivity  and  fortune.  They 
cover  his  life  wuth  Saskia  van  Uylenborch,  whom  he  mar- 
ried in  1634  and  lost  by  death  in  1642.  She  appears  in 
frequent  portraits  and  inspired  many  of  his  pictures. 
He  occupied  houses  successively  on  the  Nieuwe  Doel- 
straat,  Binnen-Amstel,  and  the  Jodenbreedstraat,  liv- 
ing simply,  but  indulging  profusely  in  the  collection  of 
works  of  art.  This  heyday  of  prosperity  in  the  com- 
panionship of  Saskia  is  commemorated  in  the  superb 
portrait  of  his  wife  sitting  upon  his  knee,  in  the  Dresden 
Gallery. 

In  1642  his  fortunes  received  a  double  blow.  Saskia 
died,  and  his  corporation  picture,  The  Sortie  of  the 
Frans  Banning  Cock  Company,  popularly  but  errone- 
ously called  "The  Night  Watch,"  was  received  with  dis- 
favor. It  proved  to  be  a  turning-point  in  his  career. 
Public  recognition  began  to  wane,  and  financial  embar- 
rassments to  increase;  yet  his  artistic  fecundity  con- 
tinued, marked  by  more  frequent  examples  of  landscape. 
Toward  the  end  of  the  forties  he  enjoyed  the  sympathetic 
support  of  the  burgomaster,  Jan  Six,  an  enthusiastic 
lover  of  books  and  collector  of  works  of  art,  whose 
friendship  lasted  till  his  death  in  1658.  Meanwhile, 
about  1653,  Rembrandt  seems  to  have  married  the  wo- 
man who  had  devoted  herself  to  his  care,  Hendrickje 
[77] 


THE  STORY  OF  DUTCH  PAINTING 

Stoffels.  She  died  in  1656  and  money  troubles  crowded 
upon  him.  He  was  declared  a  bankrupt;  his  household 
goods  were  seized  by  his  creditors  and  later  sold  at  an 
appalling  sacrifice;  the  house  in  the  Jodenbreedstraat 
also  passed  under  the  hammer,  and  Rembrandt  retired 
to  a  house  on  the  Rosengracht.  This  was  in  1658.  The 
house,  which  still  exists,  was  a  comfortable  one;  and  it 
seems  probable  that  the  eleven  years  during  which  Rem- 
brandt lived  in  it,  until  his  death  in  1669,  were  a  time  of 
tranquillity,  as  they  certainly  were  of  continued  artistic 
activity.  This  period,  indeed,  produced  The  Six  Syndics 
of  the  Cloth  Hall  (Amsterdam),  a  masterpiece  of  as- 
sured self-possession  and  complete  achievement.  It  also 
was  marked  with  many  portraits  of  himself,  no  less  than 
four  having  been  painted  in  the  last  year  of  his  life.  One 
of  them  shows  him  blear  eyed,  with  red  and  bulbous  face, 
but  laughing,  and  holding  his  maulstick  like  a  scepter.^ 

Eugene  Fromentin,  skilled  alike  as  a  man  of  letters 
and  a  painter,  analyzes  in  his  "Maitres  d' Autrefois"  the 
art  of  Rembrandt.  The  argument  has  been  so  generally 
accepted,  that  it  must  be  described  here.  It  may  be  com- 
pressed as  follows:  Fromentin  discovers  contradictions 
in  the  art  of  Rembrandt.  It  is  at  one  time  so  realistic, 
and  at  another  so  visionary.  He  explains  this  apparent 
contradiction  by  the  theory  that  Rembrandt's  was  a  dual 
nature.  On  the  one  side  he  shared  with  his  fellow-artists 
their  practicalness,  direct  seeing,  and  love  of  clear  and 
definite  expression;  while  on  the  other  he  was  a  sohtary 
dreamer,  a  visionary,  to  whom  the  mystery  of  things  made 

^  In  the  Adolf  v.  Carstanjen  Collection,  Berlin  Gallery. 


!  c 


REMBRANDT  HARMENSZ  VAN  RUN 

chief  appeal.  Thus,  by  turns  he. was  reahst  and  idealist; 
occasionally,  as  in  The  Sortie,  his  pictures  seem  to  have 
been  the  battle-ground  of  his  two  irreconcilable  natures. 

Fromentin  calls  the  realist  in  Rembrandt  the  "exte- 
rior man"  as  contrasted  with  the  "interior  man,"  re- 
vealed in  his  examples  of  idealism.  The  former  he  char- 
acterizes as  an  accomplished  technician,  with  certainty 
of  hand  and  a  keenly  logical  mind.  "His  aim  is  to  be 
comprehensible  and  veracious;  he  emulates  the  true 
colors  of  the  daylight;  draws  with  a  fidelity  and  thor- 
oughness that,  while  it  makes  you  forget  that  it  is  draw- 
ing, itself  forgets  nothing.  It  is  excellently  physiog- 
nomical. It  expresses  and  characterizes,  in  their  indi- 
viduality, traits,  glances,  attitudes,  and  gestures,  that  is 
to  say,  normal  habits  of  behavior  and  the  furtive  acci- 
dents of  life.  His  execution  has  the  propriety,  the 
ampleness,  the  high  bearing,  the  firm  tissue,  the  force 
and  conciseness  that  belong  to  passed  masters  in  the  art 
of  fine  idiomatic  expression."  The  original  of  this  last 
phrase  is  Vart  des  beaux  langues;  and  we  may  note,  in 
passing,  its  significance  in  connection  with  the  context. 
Indeed,  the  whole  paragraph  might  as  accurately  char- 
acterize some  fine  literary  production,  such  as  would 
satisfy  the  high  standard  of  the  French  Academy. 
It  is  based  upon  the  clear  comprehension  and  logic  of 
form. 

On  the  contrary,  when  Rembrandt  is  in  the  mood  of 
idealism,  Fromentin  no  longer  discovers  in  him  the  con- 
summate technician.  He  sacrifices  form  to  chiaroscuro. 
And  what  of  his  use  of  chiaroscuro,  so  peculiar  to  him- 
self that  it  has  come  to  be  called  by  his  name?  Fromen- 
[79] 


THE  STORY  OF  DUTCH  PAINTING 

tin,  in  a  beautiful  passage,  first  suggests  the  general 
value  of  chiaroscuro.  Ordinarily  used,  it  is  the  art  of 
rendering  the  atmosphere  visible  and  of  painting  an 
object  enveloped  in  air.  "But  it  is  more  than  any  other 
medium  the  form  of  intimate  sensations  or  ideas.  It 
is  light,  vaporous,  veiled,  discreet;  it  lends  its  charm  to 
things  which  are  concealed,  invites  curiosity,  adds  an  at- 
traction to  moral  beauties,  and  gives  a  grace  to  the  specu- 
lation of  conscience.  In  fine,  it  is  concerned  with  senti- 
ment, emotion,  the  uncertain,  the  undefined  and  infinite ; 
with  dreams  and  the  ideal.  And  that  is  why  it  is  appro- 
priately the  poetic  and  natural  atmosphere,  which  the 
genius  of  Rembrandt  did  not  cease  to  inhabit." 

It  was  natural,  therefore,  that  Rembrandt  should  bring 
to  perfection  this  method  of  chiaroscuro,  which  Fromen- 
tin  describes  as  the  art  of  "enveloping  everything,  of  im- 
mersing everything,  in  a  bath  of  shadow,  of  plunging 
into  it  even  the  light  itself,  in  order  to  draw  out  the  hght 
therefrom  so  that  it  shall  appear  more  distant,  more  ra- 
diant ;  to  cause  waves  of  shadow  to  revolve  round  lighted 
centers ;  and  to  modulate  these  shadows,  to  hollow  them, 
make  them  dense  and  j^et  render  the  obscurity  trans- 
parent, and  the  less  obscure  parts  easy  to  penetrate ;  in  a 
word,  to  give  to  the  strongest  colors  a  kind  of  permea- 
bility which  stops  them  from  being  black." 

But  it  is  Rembrandt's  peculiar  characteristic  that  he 
carried  the  method  of  chiaroscuro  much  further.  Fro- 
mentin  thus  sums  the  matter  up :  He  calls  him  a  lumin- 
arist,  apologizing  for  the  word,  which,  when  he  -wTote  in 
1876,  was  still  a  "barbarous"  one.  And  a  luminarist  he 
defines  to  be  one  who  conceives  of  light  as  outside  of 
[80] 


REMBRANDT  HARMENSZ  VAN  RUN 

fixed  laws,  attaches  to  it  an  extraordinary  meaning,  and 
makes  great  sacrifices  for  it.  And,  he  adds,  "if  such  is 
the  meaning  of  this  newlj^  coined  word,  Rembrandt  is  at 
once  defined  and  judged,  for  the  word  expresses  an  idea 
difficult  to  render,  but  a  true  idea,  a  rare  eulogy  and  a 
criticism." 

Briefly,  then,  Fromentin's  argument  is  this:  Rem- 
brandt in  his  ideal  moods  essayed  to  use  light  as  the 
actual  material  out  of  which  to  construct  form;  he  com- 
posed in  light.  The  result  was  admirable,  when  the  char- 
acter of  the  subject  justified  such  treatment;  but  open 
to  serious  criticism  when  it  did  not.  The  famous  instance 
of  the  latter,  in  Fromentin's  judgment,  is  The  Sortie  or 
"Night  Watch." 

"Rembrandt  had  to  represent  a  company  of  men-at- 
arms.  It  would  have  been  easy  enough  to  tell  us  what 
they  were  going  to  do ;  but  he  has  told  us  so  negligently, 
that  people  are  still  unable  to  comprehend  it,  even  in 
Amsterdam.  He  had  to  paint  some  likenesses,  they  are 
doubtful;  some  characteristic  costumes,  they  are  for  the 
most  part  apocryphal;  a  picturesque  effect,  and  this  ef- 
fect is  such  that  the  picture  becomes  undecipherable. 
The  subject,  the  personages  and  details  have  disap- 
peared in  the  shadowy  phantasmagoria  of  the  palette. 
Ordinarily  Rembrandt  excels  in  rendering  light,  he  is 
marvelous  in  the  art  of  painting  an  imaginary  subject 
{fiction)  ;  his  habit  is  to  think,  his  master  faculty  is  the 
expression  of  light.  But  here  imagination  is  out  of 
place,  life  is  wanting,  and  the  thought  atones  for  nothing. 
As  for  the  light,  it  is  unnatural,  unquiet,  and  artificial; 
it  radiates  from  the  inside  to  the  outside,  it  dissolves 
[81] 


THE  STORY  OF  DUTCH  PAINTING 

the  objects  that  it  illuminates.  I  see  some  focal  spots 
of  brilliance,  but  I  see  nothing  illuminated;  the  light 
is  neither  beautiful,  true,  nor  reasonable  (motivee) ." 

Before  discussing  this  judgment  let  us  note  Fromen- 
tin's  approval  of  Kembrandt's  use  of  light— in  the  case 
of  subjects  that  seem  to  him  to  justify  it.  He  instances 
particularly  The  Supper  at  Emmaus  and  The  Good 
Samaritan,  both  in  the  Louvre.  He  speaks  with  fine 
sj^mpathy  of  the  original  and  infinitely  human  concep- 
tion of  Christ  in  the  former  picture,  while  upon  the  tech- 
nique of  the  latter  he  comments  as  follows:  "The  can- 
vas is  enveloped  in  smoke  (enfumee),  all  impregnated 
with  somber  golds,  very  rich  in  depth  and,  above  all, 
very  grave.  The  material  is  muddy,  yet  transparent; 
the  brushwork  heavy,  yet  subtle;  hesitating  and  reso- 
lute ;  labored  and  free ;  very  unequal,  uncertain,  vague  in 
some  parts,  astonishingly  precise  in  others.  No  contour 
appears,  not  an  accent  added  in  the  way  of  routine. 
There  is  evident  an  extreme  timidity,  which  is  not  the 
result  of  ignorance  and  proceeds,  one  would  say,  from 
the  fear  of  being  banal  or  from  the  price  which  the 
thinker  attaches  to  the  immediate  and  direct  expression 
of  life.  The  objects  have  a  structure  that  seems  to  exist 
in  itself,  almost  without  the  help  of  formulas,  rendering, 
without  any  means  that  you  can  seize  upon,  the  uncer- 
tainties of  nature.  There  are  some  nude  limbs  and  feet 
of  irreproachable  construction — moreover,  'style.'  In 
the  pale,  pinched,  groaning  visage  of  the  wounded  man, 
there  is  nothing  save  expression,  something  that  comes 
from  the  soul,  from  within  outward;  tonelessness 
(atonie),  suffering;  as  it  were,  the  sad  joy  of  collecting 

1:823 


REMBRANDT  HARMENSZ  VAN  RUN 

one's  self  when  one  feels  about  to  die.  Not  a  contortion, 
not  a  trait  that  overreaches  moderation,  not  a  touch  in 
this  rendering  of  the  inexpressible  that  is  not  pathetic 
and  restrained;  ever}i:hing  dictated  by  profound  emo- 
tion and  interpreted  by  means  altogether  extraordinary." 
And,  adds  Fromentin:  "Examine  other  painters  of  senti- 
ment, of  physiognomy  and  characterization,  the  men  of 
sci-upulous  observation  or  of  verve.  Take  account  of 
their  intentions;  study  their  scrutiny,  measure  their 
domain,  weigh  well  their  language,  and  ask  yourself,  if 
anywhere  j^ou  perceive  an  equal  intimacy  in  the  expres- 
sion of  a  visage,  an  emotion  of  this  nature,  such  ingenu- 
ity in  the  manner  of  feeling ;  anything,  in  a  word,  which 
is  as  delicate  to  conceive,  as  delicate  to  say,  and  is 
said  in  terms  more  original,  more  exquisite,  or  more 
perfect." 

Notliing  else,  I  suppose,  has  ever  been  MTitten  about 
this  phase  of  Rembrandt's  art  that  is  at  once  so  fine  in 
thought  and  diction,  so  enlightening,  and  so  memorable. 
For  one  here  meets  in  union  the  trained  thinker  and 
practised  writer  and  the  painter;  thus  getting  much 
more  than  the  painter's  exclusive  point  of  view,  and  at 
the  same  time  the  latter,  interpreted  by  the  painter  at 
first  hand.  The  gist  of  it  is  that,  when  the  subject  in- 
volved an  idea,  Rembrandt  was  not  only  justified  in 
sacrificing  the  corporeal  to  the  incorporeal,  but  was 
master  of  a  technique  that  could  express  the  idea  conclu- 
sively and  with  supreme  emotional  appeal. 

In  conclusion,  Fromentin  considers  that  the  whole  life 
of  Rembrandt  represents  a  struggle  between  the  two 
sides  of  his  nature.  The  earhest  battle-ground  was  The 
[83] 


THE  STORY  OF  DUTCH  PAINTING 

Sortie,  from  which,  owing  to  the  nature  of  the  problem, 
he  came  off  worsted.  But  did  he  ever  succeed  in  recon- 
cihng  the  "exterior"  and  the  "interior"  man?  If  ever, 
Fromentin  concludes,  surely  in  The  Syndics,  which,  in 
a  word,  is  a  work  of  imagination  and  yet  of  real  life. 

The  whole  exposition  of  Fromentin's  argument,  from 
which  these  fragments  have  been  gathered,  is  worth  care- 
ful study,  particularly  because  of  the  constructive  nature 
of  the  criticism.  In  its  combination  of  technical  in- 
formation and  logical  point  of  view,  in  its  subtlety  and 
human  sympathy,  it  affords  a  model  for  the  method  of 
approaching  the  serious  examination  of  a  great  artist's 
w^ork.  One  may  acknowledge  its  value  and  the  benefit 
derived  from  it,  without  subscribing  entirely  to  its  con- 
clusions. It  may  be  possible  to  feel  that  it  has  the  defect, 
if  one  is  to  find  a  single  word  for  it,  of  excessive  concen- 
tration. It  centers  too  exclusively  around  one  picture, 
TJie  Sortie  of  the  Banning  Cock  Company. 

This  picture  has  suffered  from  too  much  exploitation. 
It  has  been  praised  "not  wisely  but  too  well"  by  artists 
and  has  been  worshiped  by  the  public.  Fromentin  may 
have  approached  it  with  undue  expectations ;  at  any  rate, 
he  found  himself  disappointed;  and,  being  at  variance 
^vith  the  general  judgment,  felt  the  need  of  justifying 
his  own  attitude.  He  has  done  it  so  exhaustively  as  to 
warp  his  own  judgment,  until  what  there  is  of  weakness 
in  the  picture  has  become  almost  an  obsession  with  him. 
It  is  never  absent  from  his  thoughts,  and  continually 
peeps  in  on  one  page  after  another,  and  mingles  with  the 
judgment  of  other  pictures.     Fromentin  has  used  it  as 


REMBRANDT  HARMENSZ  VAN  RUN 

a  pivot  around  which  to  swing  his  whole  appreciation  of 
Rembrandt ;  and,  more  than  this,  has  himself  been  sucked 
into  the  vortex  of  his  own  revolving  argument.  It  is  an 
expedient  scarcely  to  be  warranted  by  breadth  of  criti- 
cism to  select  one  picture  of  any  artist  as  a  focusing- 
point  for  a  consideration  of  his  whole  work,  and  least 
of  all  in  the  case  of  an  artist  so  universal  as  Rembrandt. 
INIoreover,  Fromentin  does  not  persuade  us  that  he 
liad  a  very  wide  acquaintance  with  the  master's  work. 
He  knew  his  Louvre  well;  grew  up  with  it,  and  had 
become  habituated  to  it  and  fixed  in  the  impressions  he 
had  derived.  Later  in  life  he  made  the  acquaintance  of 
the  National  Gallery  and  visited  Dresden.  Then  he 
makes  the  pilgrimage  to  Holland.  He  first  reaches  The 
Hague,  where  The  Lesson  in  Anatomy  fails  to  satisfy 
his  expectations.  He  is  alive  to  its  excellence  in  parts, 
but  does  not  find  the  strength  and  character  of  two  or 
three  of  the  heads  sustained  throughout  the  canvas.  He 
feels  that  an  unreasonable  amount  of  adulation  has  been 
lavished  on  the  picture.  It  arouses  his  antagonism  and 
piques  in  him  the  critical  vein.  Then  an  interval  in  his 
approach  to  Rembrandt  ensues.  He  alights  at  Haar- 
lem and  notes  with  what  definitive  skill  and  clearness  of 
comprehension  Frans  Hals  treated  the  corporation  sub- 
ject. Fresh  from  these  impressions,  he  finds  himself  in 
front  of  Rembrandt's  treatment  of  a  corresponding 
theme.  By  contrast  it  seems  to  him  a  work  of  confused 
motives  and  manifold  uncertainties.  Yet  how  extrava- 
gantly it  has  been  lauded!  Like  The  Lesson  in  Anat- 
omy, The  Sortie  of  the  Banning  Cock  Company  has 
been  prejudiced  by  uncritical  applause.  The  critic  in 
[85] 


THE  STORY  OF  DUTCH  PAINTING 

Fromentin  is  now  thoroughly  roused.  With  every  wish 
to  be  fair  to  Rembrandt,  he  proceeds  to  build  upon  these 
two  pictures  a  fabric  of  constructive  and  destructive 
criticism.  His  faculties  are  narrowed  to  a  focus  spot  of 
concentrated  heat,  are  swept  into  the  ardor  of  their  cen- 
tripetal momentum,  and  become  caught  up  in  the  subtle- 
ties of  their  own  compressed  invention.  He  elaborates 
a  theory,  and  into  its  compact  limits  would  squeeze  the 
genius  of  Rembrandt. 

Further,  what  kind  of  mind  did  Fromentin  bring  to 
bear  upon  this  examination  ?  A  generous  one,  desirous 
of  being  broad;  but  a  Frenchman's  and  an  Academi- 
cian's ;  one,  that  is  to  say,  which  clings  to  logic  and  bases 
its  expression  upon  form.  It  exhibits  and  demands 
clarity  of  reasoning;  declares  itself  in  refined  exactness. 
It  knew  of  Impressionism,  yet  was  too  old  in  its  convic- 
tions, too  fixed  in  earlier  traditions,  to  comprehend  it. 
But,  since  the  day  when  Fromentin's  mind  was  in  the 
forming,  the  world's  point  of  view  toward  art,  even  one 
may  say  toward  life,  has  changed;  and  its  attitude  to- 
ward the  manner  of  expression  has  progressed,  until  it 
has  come  back  to  Rembrandt  with  a  new  and  more  inti- 
mate comprehension.  It  recognizes  him  as  an  Impres- 
sionist of  sensations  and  tries  to  judge  him  by  what  we 
now  know  and  feel  about  Impressionism. 

Briefly,  we  have  learned  that  there  may  be  something 
in  art  more  valuable  than  the  record  of  a  person,  place, 
or  incident,  and  this  is,  the  impression  of  it  conceived  and 
rendered  by  the  artist ;  that,  through  this  interpretation, 
the  place,  person,  or  incident  becomes  illuminated,  more 
vitally  represented.     How,  for  example,  can  Barthol- 

Csen 


POHTKAIT  OF  ELIZABETH  BAS  REMBRANDT 

RIJKS  MUSEUM,  AMSTERDAM 


I 


REMBRANDT  HARMENSZ  VAN  RUN 

di's  Statue  of  Liberty  compare  with  the  interpretation 
of  the  idea  evolved  by  such  a  man  as  Lincohi  ?  The  idea 
thus  logically  and  formally  shaped  in  the  Statue  will  not 
even  bear  comparison  with  that  which  is  expressed  by 
the  spontaneous  utterance  of  some  poor  emigrant,  as.he 
finds  his  foot  at  last  planted  on  the  free  soil  of  his  imag- 
inings. In  life,  as  in  art,  the  real  thing  to  us  is  what  we 
feel  about  it;  in  Rembrandt's  art,  what  he  feels  about  his 
subject  and  makes  lis  feel. 

Then,  again,  we  have  discovered  that  often  we  are 
made  to  feel  most  deeply,  not  by  detailed  statement,  but 
by  suggestion :  in  the  case  of  a  speaker,  perhaps  by  a  mo- 
mentary gesture,  or  play  of  features,  by  a  sudden  inflec- 
tion of  the  voice,  or  a  pause  in  speech,  and  the  occasional 
accent  of  a  word  or  sentence;  in  the  case  of  a  ^\Titer, 
often  as  much  by  what  he  leaves  unsaid,  by  the  thought 
that  is  veiled  behind  the  statement,  by  the  choice  and  em- 
phasis of  certain  features  of  his  record.  Further,  we 
may  have  learned  to  find  occasional  value  even  in  un- 
certainty or  indecision.  We  may  sometimes  tire  of,  and 
possibly  distrust,  the  world's  tendency  to  "get  things 
down  fine."  The  latter  may  seem  to  imply  that  the  thing 
itself  is  small,  or  that  there  is  smallness  in  the  vision  of 
the  man  who  thus  approaches  life.  We  may  be  conscious 
of  life  itself  as  an  aggregate  of  moments  of  brilliant 
realization  and  more  frequent  half-tones,  enveloped  in 
a  sea  of  shadow ;  and  may  reach  nearer  to  the  heart  and 
meaning  of  it  by  welcoming  its  mystery. 

Surely  something  of  this  sort  was  Rembrandt's  atti- 
tude toward  life,  and  therefore  his  point  of  view  toward- 
art.  He  has  been  called  unlearned,  because  he  had  small 
[87] 


THE  STORY  OF  DUTCH  PAINTING 

taste  for  Latin  and  no  scholastic  acquisitions.  But  in 
the  wisdom  of  Hfe,  as  drawn  from  hfe  itself  and  dis- 
tilled through  the  brain  and  temperament  of  one  who 
searched  life  deeply  and  lived  his  own  life  ardently,  he 
has  had  few  equals,  at  least  among  artists.  For  the  ex- 
planation of  Rembrandt  is  that  to  him  life  presented 
itself  as  an  idea. 

Thus  he  is  without  a  rival  in  the  sympathetic  render- 
ing of  old  age.  He  saw  more  than  the  exterior  of  it; 
he  penetrated  into  its  psychology.  For— how  shall  I 
express  it? — the  fruit  of  living  is  experience,  and  ex- 
perience tends  more  and  more  to  lose  sight  of  the  con- 
crete in  the  abstract,  to  replace  the  substance  of  the  form 
with  the  higher  reality  of  the  idea.  The  young  man,  as 
he  ceases  to  depend  upon  the  ministrations  of  the  mother, 
enshrines  her  in  a  personal  idea  of  motherhood;  the  old 
lover  rediscovers  the  bride  of  his  youth  in  the  idea  with 
which  time  has  enveloped  the  wife.  The  idea  is  the  aure- 
ole or  nimbus  that  gathers  about  the  form  and  proclaims 
its  sanctity.  It  is  the  idea,  then,  that  Rembrandt,  the 
artist  of  ideas,  the  searcher  after  the  higher  reality  inher- 
ent in  form,  discovered  in  old  age. 

On  the  other  hand,  while  Rembrandt  exalted  the  idea 
above  the  substance,  he  was  not  indifferent  to  form.  No 
great  artist  whose  domain  is  the  world  of  sight  can  be. 

Indeed,  the  wider  the  acquaintance  with  the  master 
goes,  whether  in  the  galleries  throughout  Europe,  or 
through  the  examples  which  occasionally  emerge  from 
private  collections,  as  in  the  recent  extraordinary  dis- 
plaj^  in  the  New  York  Metropolitan  Museum  of  Art, 
the  more  one  is  impressed  not  only  with  Rembrandt's 

cssn 


REMBRANDT  HARMENSZ  VAN  RUN 

feeling  for  form,  but  also  with  his  amazing  power  of 
rendering  it. 

Sometimes,  as  m  the  marvelously  detailed  Portrait  of 
Elizabeth  Bas  (Amsterdam),  the  impression  he  derived 
of  the  original  was  one  which  he  could  render  only  by 
enforcing  the  bulk  and  character  and  precision  of  form. 
This  lady,  though  not  of  gentle  birth,  was,  as  the  widow 
of  Admiral  Swartenhout,  a  figure  in  society.  This  much 
we  know  from  the  written  record ;  the  rest  is  recorded  in 
the  portrait.  As  Rembrandt  saw  her,  she  was  a  woman 
of  determined  personality;  a  narrow  and  rigid  believer 
in  her  own  importance,  and  a  stickler  for  its  recognition ; 
an  ingrained  precisionist,  as  upright  as  her  backbone  and 
as  set  in  formalism  as  her  corseted  figure.  Yet  the  flesh 
of  her  face  and  hands  has  the  dimpled  softness  and  deli- 
cate contours  of  well-preserved  old  age.  She  is  fully 
conscious  of  prerogatives,  but  her  hardness  has  been 
made  gracious  by  the  kindly  touch  of  time.  All  this, 
no  doubt,  was  WTitten  in  detail  on  her  ample  person,  and 
Rembrandt,  feeling  the  intimate  value  of  its  complete- 
ness, has  detailed  it  in  the  portrait. 

Or  take  another  example  of  the  record  of  an  impres- 
sion. The  Portrait  of  Hendrichje  Stoffels  in  the  Berlin 
Gallery.  The  devotion  of  this  w^oman  had  stayed  the 
artist  in  his  trials,  and  her  exuberant  youth  had  put  fresh 
force  into  his  courage.  He  had  learned  to  depend  upon 
her  watchful  solicitude,  to  lean  upon  her  abundant  vital- 
ity, and  to  warm  his  imagination  in  the  glow  of  her  physi- 
cal ardor.  In  the  portrait  he  wraps  her  strong  figure  in 
the  rich  grandeur  of  a  mantle  that  burns  with  wonderful 
brown  lights  above  an  under-robe  of  golden  cream,  while 

CSS] 


THE  STORY  OF  DUTCH  PAINTING 

a  flash  of  crimson  glows  in  her  brown  hair,  and  a  golden 
warmth  is  exhaled  from  the  full,  firm  features  and  hovers 
above  the  ripe  harvest  of  her  bosom.  The  portrait  is  an 
artist's  apotheosis  of  the  glory  and  the  benediction  of 
physical  vitality;  and,  let  us  not  forget,  in  the  strength 
of  this  woman's  companionship  Rembrandt  achieved  his 
masterpiece  of  austere  and  virile  intellectuality — The 
Syndics  of  the  Cloth  Workers'  Guild. 

And  so  we  might  take  one  by  one  the  pictures  of  this 
master,  and,  whether  the  impression  that  it  records  is 
drawn  mainly  from  the  exterior  of  its  subject  or  from  a 
penetration  of  the  character  or  soul  within,  whether  it 
be  the  expression  of  the  soul  of  some  fact  of  Bible  story, 
no  matter  what  the  degree  of  idealism  involved,  every 
time  it  is  form  or  some  interpretation  thereof,  that  is  the 
foundation  of  the  picture.  Not  form,  however,  for  its 
o^\Ti  sake,  for  the  purpose  of  rendering  it  in  its  logical 
and  reasoned  completeness  or  of  exploiting  the  master's 
efficiency  in  doing  what  every  student  aspires,  and  many 
can  learn,  to  do ;  but  form  so  felt,  so  rendered,  that  what 
we  are  made  conscious  of  is  not  alone  the  physical  sense 
of  form,  but  its  abstract  significance ;  in  a  word,  if  I  may 
say  so,  the  soul  of  form,  as  from  time  to  time  it  is  used 
to  interpret  some  one  or  other  of  the  artist's  impressions. 

You  cannot  pass  from  one  to  the  other  of  the  thirty- 
seven  examples  of  Rembrandt  in  the  exhibition  that,  as 
I  write,  is  being  held  in  the  galleries  of  the  ^letropolitan 
Museum,  or  travel  round  the  galleries  of  Europe,  intent 
upon  the  wealth  of  Rembrandts  that  they  contain,  with- 
out reaching  a  conviction,  that  grows  more  and  more 
assured,  of  the  profound  knowledge  and  feeling  for  form 

1^1 


PORTRAIT  OF  HENDRICKJE  STOFFELS 

BERLIN  GALLERY 


REMBRANDT 


I 


REMBRANDT  HARMENSZ  VAN  RUN 

that  Rembrandt  possessed  and  communicates.  He  may 
reveal  clearly  but  a  portion  of  a  figure,  veiling  or  ob- 
scuring the  rest ;  but  what  is  revealed  is  sufficient  for  the 
physical  appreciation  of  the  whole  figure,  and  enforces 
the  physical  significance,  while  the  spiritual  significance 
is  profoundly  increased  by  the  demand  that  has  been 
made  upon  our  imagination.  After  long  study  one 
comes  to  believe,  not  only  that  Rembrandt  treated  form 
differently  from  other  artists,  which  no  one,  I  suppose, 
denies;  but  also  that  no  other  artist  has  ever  treated  it 
with  such  a  mingling  of  power  and  subtlety,  with  so  fine 
and  sure  a  reliance  upon  its  physical  qualities,  and  yet 
with  so  marvelous  a  capacity  to  interpret  its  spiritual 
significance. 

Almost  similar  in  motive  is  Rembrandt's  use  of  color. 
He  is  not  a  colorist  in  the  sense  that  the  great  Vene- 
tians were,  for  they  extolled  the  glory  of  local  color 
— the  actual  splendor  of  hue  with  which  they  clothed 
their  radiant  figures  and  wove  about  them  a  triumphant 
orchestration.  This  also  is  an  abstract  use  of  color,  in- 
volving a  consciousness  and  suggestion  of  the  effect  that 
color  as  color  has  upon  the  imagination.  But  Rem- 
brandt went  further.  He,  too,  had  the  love  of  beautiful 
fabrics,  bought  them  freely,  and  as  freely  used  them  on 
his  models.  But  .here  he  parts  company  with  the  Vene- 
tians ;  for  by  this  time  he  has  ceased  to  think  of  the  fabric 
or  its  color  as  something  of  value  in  itself.  It  has  become 
merged  in  the  impression  that  he  has  formed  of  the  whole 
subject.  It  may  occupy  a  large  or  small  part  in  the  total 
impression ;  that  is  as  it  may  be ;  but  henceforth  it  is  only 
contributory  to  the  physical  and  spiritual  sensations  that 


THE  STORY  OF  DUTCH  PAINTING 

he  has  received  and  is  set  upon  interpreting.  Thus  he 
is  at  no  pains  to  preserve  the  material  integrity  of  the 
local  color ;  he  uses  it  as  he  does  form :  extracting  from  it 
this  or  that,  here  forcing  or  there  veiling  its  emphasis, 
plunging  much  of  it  in  shadow.  Therefore,  even  as  his 
treatment  of  form  has  proved  an  enigma  to  some  critics, 
so  some  hesitate  to  call  him  a  colorist.  After  the  manner 
of  the  Venetians,  I  repeat,  he  is  not.  But  need  theirs  be 
the  only  manner  of  the  colorist? 

Rembrandt  used  color  as  he  used  form,  as  a  sjTnbol  of 
expression;  and,  to  repeat,  what  he  sought  to  express 
was  the  impression  that  the  form  and  color  had  aroused 
in  his  imagination.  When  the  impression  was  derived 
merely  from  the  externals  of  form,  he  would  elaborate 
in  detail  the  retinal  impression  and  in  such  cases  usually 
preserve  the  integrity  of  the  local  color.  But  it  was 
otherwise  when  the  impression  was  extracted  from  the 
soul  of  the  subject,  whether  the  latter  were  an  individual 
whose  portrait  he  was  painting,  or  a  Biblical  incident 
the  significance  of  which  he  was  elaborating  out  of  his 
own  inner  consciousness  of  its  meaning.  For  then  he  is 
not  representing  things  as  he  sees  them,  but  recreating 
the  impression  that  they  have  made  in  his  imagination. 
The  local  color  becomes  merged  in  the  color  of  his  imag- 
ination ;  gathers  brilliance  from  its  certainties,  fades  into 
the  half-lights  of  its  questionings,  is  threaded  through 
and  through  with  strands  of  discrimination,  and  plunged 
in  the  mystery  of  the  unknowable. 

Finally^  in  this  use  of  form  and  color,  Rembrandt  is 

nearer  to  what  is  most  modern  in  the  art  of  to-day  than 

has  been  generally  recognized.    For  of  late  Impression- 

1192] 


REMBRANDT  HARMENSZ  VAN  RUN 

ism  has  entered  on  a  new  development.  During  some 
time  it  was  intent  upon  a  more  vivid  and  truthful  repre- 
sentation of  the  facts  of  life.  It  sat  at  the  feet  of  Velas- 
quez, trying  to  do  again  what  he  did  so  supremely  well. 
It  did  not  succeed  in  equaling  his  authority,  for  the  suf- 
ficient reason  that  an  imitator  never  rivals  the  master; 
but  at  the  same  time  it  added  something  to  what  Velas- 
quez stands  for.  Helped  by  science,  it  has  carried  fur- 
ther than  he  did  the  study  of  light  in  the  variety  and 
quality  of  its  manifestations,  and  has  gained,  especially 
in  landscape,  an  instrument  for  interpreting  sentiment 
and  moods  of  temperament.  In  the  intellectual  analysis 
of  the  appearance  of  nature  Velasquez  said  the  last 
word ;  and  now  in  the  domain  of  emotion  and  of  spiritual 
expression,  as  interpreted  by  the  representation  of  na- 
ture, there  is  nothing  further  to  be  said.  In  a  word,  the 
ideal  of  graphic  art,  as  based  upon  the  representation  of 
nature,  which  since  the  thirteenth  century  has  occupied 
the  artists  of  the  Western  world,  .is  now  found  to  have 
reached  a  development  beyond  which  no  further  devel- 
opment is  possible.  As  a  commentary  upon  this  is  the 
development  of  photography,  which  along  the  line  of 
representation  vies  \^ath  painting. 

Certain  original  minds,^  therefore,  have  realized  the 
need  of  a  new  ideal,  a  new  motive  with  which  to  refertil- 
ize  their  art.  They  are  seeking  to  discover  it  in  a  new 
conception  of  Impressionism.  Their  position,  in  effect, 
is  this :  Need  the  impression  that  is  derived  from  nature 
be  limited  by  the  necessities  of  naturalistic  representa- 
tion?   Can  it  not  free  itself  from  the  liability  of  being 

^  I  allude  to  the  men  who  are  working  more  or  less  in  sympathy  with  and 
along  the  lines  of  the  French  artist,  Matisse. 

cos: 


THE  STORY  OF  DUTCH  PAINTING 

judged  by  the  standard  of  what  it  is  derived  from,  and 
claim  to  be  enjoyed  .for  its  own  abstract  quaHties  of  form 
and  color?  May  it  not  detach  itself  more  freely  from  the 
concrete,  and  attain  nearer  to  the  abstract?  Are  there 
not  further  possibilities  in  the  conception  of  form  and 
color  as  symbols? 

The  new  movement,  for  such  it  has  grown  to  be,  in 
France,  Germany,  Austria,  and  England,  has  come  by 
way  of  the  East.  The  harvest  of  a  century  of  Eastern 
exploration,  ripened  during  the  last  fifty  years  by  an 
increasing  intimacy  with  the  art  of  Egypt,  China,  Korea, 
Japan,  India,  and  Mesopotamia,  is  at  length  being 
stored.  We  are  beginning  to  realize  the  Oriental  con- 
ception of  art  as  decoration,  relying  upon  the  abstract 
qualities  of  form  and  color,  and  using  them,  not  as  ve- 
hicles of  natural  representation,  but  as  symbols,  appeal- 
ing freely,  without  concrete  reference,  to  the  imagina- 
tion. To  repeat,  these  pioneers  of  the  new  movement 
find  themselves  at  the  point  where  the  Renaissance 
started  in  the  thirteenth  century.  The  latter  broke  away 
from  the  remnant  of  the  Oriental  ideal,  left  in  Byzan- 
tine art,  to  conquer  a  new  world  of  natural  representa- 
tion, and  its  evolution  has  been  completed.  The  new 
movement  has  recovered  the  Oriental  standpoint  from 
which  to  attempt  the  conquest  of  a  new  ideal.  It  is  a 
movement,  at  present,  mainly  of  experiment,  and  nec- 
essarily so.  For  all  of  us,  whether  artists  or  laymen,  are 
as  yet  too  much  under  the  influence  of  centuries  of  in- 
herited tradition  to  be  able  to  free  ourselves  from  the  con- 
sciousness of  what  it  stands  for. 

The  artist  of  our  own  time  whose  intuition  steered  him 


REMBRANDT  HARMENSZ  VAN  RUN 

first  in  the  direction  of  this  new  conception  and  use  of 
form  and  color  is  Whistler;  and  among  the  potent  in- 
fluences of  his  own  life  was  Rembrandt.  That  the  latter 
was  habitually  desirous  of  evading  the  concrete  signifi- 
cance of  form  is  contradicted  by  innumerable  pictures; 
but  that  in  some  he  did  evade  it,  even  as  Whistler  did  in 
his  Nocturnes,  is  undeniable.  Moreover,  Rembrandt 
showed  less  regard  for  the  traditional  use  of  form  and 
color  than  any  artist  up  to  our  own  day.  With  all  his 
sense  of  its  significance,  he  used  it  with  the  complete 
freedom  of  personal  expression;  and  so  enveloped  it  in 
the  half-lights  and  obscurities  of  an  atmosphere  of  his 
own  invention,  that,  while  the  picture  represents  an  in- 
cident, it  contradicts  the  idea  of  material  representation. 
It  is,  to  a  more  abstract  degree  than  has  been  reached 
by  any  other  Caucasian  artist,  the  record  of  a  spiritual 
impression,  based  on  the  symbolic  use  of  form  and  color. 
It  approaches  the  brink  of  that  still  further  detachment 
from  the  necessities  of  natural  representation  that  char- 
acterizes the  New  Thought  in  modern  art. 


CQS] 


CHAPTER  VI 

THE  INFLUENCE  OF  HALS  AND  REMBRANDT 

BOTH  Hals  and  Rembrandt,  each  in  his  different 
way,  have  influenced  the  art  of  modern  times 
much  in  the  same  way  in  which  they  influenced 
their  contemporaries.  Hals  was  and  still  remains  a  great 
exemplar  of  technical  method  which  may  be  practically 
adopted,  while  Rembrandt,  with  a  technique  that  defies 
imitation,  has  influenced  his  own  times  and  ours  by  in- 
spiring principles  not  only  of  technique  but  of  motive. 
The  difference  is  inherent  in  their  characters— Hals  the 
raconteur ;  Rembrandt  the  thinker. 

Hals,  with  his  masterful  gift  of  summarizing  the  inci- 
dents and  accidents  of  an  occasion  or  a  personality,  re- 
sembles the  best  examples  of  the  modern  journalist  and 
magazine  writer;  keenly  alive  to  the  temper  of  his  own 
time;  reflecting  everything  vividly,  as  in  a  mirror,  yet 
with  a  discrimination  for  effects.  Rembrandt,  on  the 
other  hand,  so  absorbed  in  his  own  contemplation  as  to 
be  an  enigma  to  the  man  who  runs  and  reads,  is  yet  so 
passionately  human  that  the  place  he  by  degrees  makes 
for  himself  in  the  imagination  and  the  heart  of  those  who 
learn  to  know  him  expands  and  deepens.  The  differ- 
ence between  them  is  epitomized  in  their  respective  kinds 
of  technique.  While  Rembrandt  is  a  constructor,  Hals 
is  a  "follower  of  surfaces." 

11963 


THE  SUPPKR  AT  EMMAUS 


REMBRANDT 


LOUVRR,  PARIS 


HALS  AND  REMBRANDT 

This  may  possibly  explain  the  immediate  and  direct 
hold  that  Hals  has  exerted  upon  modern  art.  The  latter 
has  been  mainly  concerned  with  imitation,  casting 
around  for  borrowed  motives  and  for  an  appropriate 
method  of  expressing  them.  In  portraiture  especially  it 
has  been  confronted  with  the  problem  of  catering  to  the 
luxurious  and  extravagant  superficialities  of  a  society 
largely  composed  of  nouveaux  riches.  For  such  the 
grave  intellectuality  of  that  other  example  of  our  day, 
Velasquez,  was  inappropriate,  but  Hals's  glib,  effective 
following  of  surfaces,  just  the  thing.  It  has  authority 
and  style,  while  its  essential  commonness  of  feeling  is 
discreetly  veiled  by  a  veneer  of  aristocratic  suggestion, 
and  its  evasion  of  the  problems  of  construction  is  dis- 
guised beneath  a  handsome  showing  of  virility.  His,  in 
fact,  was  precisely  the  style  that  met  the  demands  and 
suited  the  temperament  of  society  in  the  latter  part  of 
the  nineteenth  century. 

Many,  I  suppose,  will  repudiate  the  notion  that  Hals 
was  either  commonplace  or  faulty  as  a  constructor  of 
form.  He  is  so  much  a  man  of  our  own  time,  and  in 
consequence  has  been  so  belauded,  that  to  some  it  may 
sound  like  lese-majeste  to  dispute  his  position  in  modern 
estimation.  On  the  other  hand,  if  one  tries  to  get  beyond 
the  barrier  of  approbation  with  which  artists  and  the 
public  have  blocked  the  free  view  of  Hals  in  relation  to 
other  portrait-painters  of  his  own  school,  such  as  Rem- 
brandt or  Terborch,  or  of  other  schools  or  periods,  the 
suspicion  of  his  comparative  commonness  of  feeling  may 
grow  into  a  conviction.  Whether  it  does  so  or  not  is  so 
purely  a  question  of  individual  point  of  view  and  feeling 

'  COT] 


THE  STORY  OF  DUTCH  PAINTING 

that  it  would  be  futile  to  try  to  reason  the  matter  out.  I 
can  scarcely  explain  my  own  conviction.  Perhaps  I  have 
hinted  at  the  basis  of  it  in  applying  to  Hals  the  term  a 
raconteur,  and  in  likening  his  style  to  that  of  a  brilliant 
newspaper  man.  It  is  the  function  of  both  of  these  lat- 
ter to  make  an  immediate  appeal,  not  necessarily  flashy 
but  certainly  striking,  to  a  mixed  gathering  of  listeners 
or  readers,  whose  first  and  sole  demand  is  that  the  gist  of 
the  matter  shall  be  hit  off  attractively.  Each  in  a  greater 
or  less  degree  is  addressing  a  crowd,  and,  since  the  lat- 
ter's  aggregate  of  mentality  and  feeling  is  of  a  lower 
order  than  the  mentality  and  taste  of  some,  at  least,  of 
the  individuals  composing  it,  the  speaker  or  writer,  to 
prove  attractive,  must,  consciously  or  unconsciously, 
adjust  his  thought  and  expression  to  this  lower  level. 
Such  is  the  suggestion  of  Hals  and  his  modern  imitators, 
when  their  work  is  compared  with  that  of  the  great  por- 
trait-painters, whose  feeling  and  style  are  the  products 
of  their  own  high-bred  aloofness  and  self-sustained  in- 
dividuality. The  work  of  the  former,  by  comparison, 
seems  designed  to  attract,  as  directly  as  possible  and  in 
a  way  to  make  the  least  demand  upon  reflection.  It 
skims  the  surfaces  and  summarizes  the  most  obvious  of 
their  features  in  the  raciest  of  ways. 

On  the  other  hand,  it  is  easier  to  transmit  the  convic- 
tion that  Hals  was  a  follower  of  surfaces,  for  one's  eye- 
sight here  assists  one's  feeling.  Look  at  one  of  his  por- 
traits and  observe  the  fluent  skill  ^^^th  which  the  several 
planes  of  the  features  are  rendered;  the  finesse  with 
which  a  glove  is  fitted  to  the  hand,  the  folds  of  a  costume 
are  expressed,  and  even  protuberances  of  the  form  sug- 

[983 


HALS  AND  REMBRANDT 

gested.  It  is  admirable,  marvelous!  When  painters 
can  achieve  such  magic,  it  is  no  wonder  that  we  have  a 
phrase,  "as  clever  as  paint."  But  compare  this  portrait 
with  one  of  Rembrandt's,  and  the  latter's  superiority  in 
the  matter  of  solidity  and  structural  strength  becomes 
apparent.  The  suggestion  of  form  in  Hals's  is  altogether 
slighter;  you  will  not  be  convinced  of  bone  and  muscle 
structure  beneath  the  surfaces,  and,  if  you  continue  the 
comparison  from  gallery  to  gallery  or  choose  to  vary  it 
by  comparing  Hals  with  Van  Eyck,  Diirer,  Holbein, 
and  the  great  portrait-painters  of  the  other  schools,  will 
hardly  fail  to  be  convinced  of  his  inferiority  as  a  con- 
structor. 

On  the  other  hand,  it  was  his  skill  in  following  the  sur- 
face that  made  his  influence  so  valuable  to  his  contempo- 
raries. The  sense  of  structural  form  cannot  be  imparted. 
It  is  constitutional ;  a  man  has  it  or  he  has  not.  But  it  is 
possible  to  teach  efficiency  in  brushwork ;  and  Hals,  one 
of  the  most  brilliant  painters  who  ever  lived,  set  a  stan- 
dard of  painter-like  craftsmanship  that,  passed  on  by  his 
immediate  pupils  to  others,  gave  to  Holland  the  merit 
of  producing  the  most  efficient  school  of  painters  in  the 
world.  The  most  important  of  his  pupils  were  Terborch, 
]Metsu,  Wouwerman,  and  Adriaen  van  Ostade,  the  last 
named  the  teacher  of  Jan  Steen.  It  is  a  noticeable  fact 
that  all  these  men  were  genre  painters,  for  even  Wou- 
werman, by  a  slight  straining  of  the  word,  can  be  in- 
cluded, since  the  individual  charm  of  his  landscapes  con- 
sists in  their  animated  groups  of  figures,  and  it  was  in 
his  treatment  of  these  that  he  was  especially  indebted  to 
Hals.    In  fact,  the  latter's  influence  on  the  men  of  his 

1:993 


THE  STORY  OF  DUTCH  PAINTING 

own  day  was  directly  and  most  characteristically  and 
emphatically  shown,  not,  as  in  our  daj^  in  portraiture, 
but  in  genre;  in  shaping,  refining,  and  giving  new  dis- 
tinction to  the  tendency  for  genre  pictures  that  the  Hol- 
landers had  inherited  from  the  united  School  of  Flan- 
ders. 

In  a  previous  chapter  we  have  spoken  of  the  encour- 
agement which  Hals's  example  gave  to  the  still-Mfe 
painting ;  it  was  no  less  effective  in  encouraging  the  use 
of  still-life  in  genre.  The  motive  of  the  new  genre  be- 
came less  that  of  depicting  an  incident  than  of  picturing 
the  environment  of  home  life,  its  accompaniments  of  fur- 
niture and  belongings;  and  these  were  made  contribu- 
tory to  recreatmg  the  spirit  of  the  life. 

Immediately  from  this  proceeds  the  second  point  which 
the  genre  painters  gained  from  Hals:  namely,  an  in- 
spiration for  the  composition  of  their  pictures.  It  is 
marked  no  less  by  naturalness  than  propriety,  and  by  an 
extraordinary  feeling  of  unity.  There  is  an  excellent 
discretion  alike  in  the  choice  and  in  the  arrangement  of 
details ;  ever}i;hing  is  characteristic  and  made  subservient 
to  the  general  harmony. 

The  latter  results  from  the  third  point  enforced  by 
Hals's  example :  the  principle  of  relativity  in  the  use  of 
values.  Color  became  the  basis  of  the  new  genre,  and 
color  treated  from  the  point  of  view  of  tone ;  hence  again 
the  incomparable  unity  of  impression  which  examples  of 
the  best  genre  artists  exhibit.  Some  mass  of  local  color, 
either  cool  or  warm  in  hue,  affords  a  dominant  note. 
To  this,  by  means  of  contrasts  and  repetitions,  the  whole 
scheme  is  tuned.  The  contrasting  values  of  other  local 
[100] 


HALS  AND  REMBRANDT 

colors  are  opposed  to  that  of  the  dominant  mass,  and 
higher  and  lower  values  of  all  these  colors  repeated 
throughout  the  scheme.  The  harmony  that  ensues  may 
be  rich  and  low  or  high  in  key  and  sprightly,  but  in  the 
finest  examples,  and  they  are  very  numerous,  is  always 
characterized  by  a  choice  refinement. 

This  quality  is  due  in  no  slight  measure  to  the  fourth 
way  in  which  these  artists  were  indebted  to  Hals,  namely, 
their  skill  in  brushwork.  For  they  learned  from  him  to 
lay  the  color  on  frankly  and  directly,  without  fumbling 
or  indecision.  They  constructed  their  forms  in  color, 
building  them  up  with  layers  of  modulated  values,  work- 
ing generally  with  a  small  brush,  but  one  that  was  fully 
charged  with  pigment  which  was  floated  on  to  the  sur- 
face. Thus  the  color  has  not  only  body  and  substance, 
but  also  a  limpid  transparency,  a  quality  as  of  liquidized 
gems.  It  is  this  blend  of  lightness  of  touch,  of  purity  of 
pigment,  and  withal  of  solid  underpainting,  that  gives 
breadth  and  dignity  to  the  delicacy  of  these  harmonies. 
To  assure  one's  self  of  this  it  is  but  necessary  to  compare 
a  Vermeer  or  Terborch  with  a  Netscher.  The  last  is  felt 
at  once  to  have  less  breadth  and  dignity,  and  altogether 
slighter  charm;  and  an  examination  of  his  technique 
helps  to  explain  the  reason.  There  is  less  underpainting, 
and  in  the  minute  and  dainty  passages  the  pigment  has 
not  been  floated  but  stippled  over  the"  surface.  The 
result  is  a  comparative  tightness  of  feeling  and,  in  place 
of  limpid  transparency,  a  suggestion  rather  of  thinness 
and  hardness. 

The  influence  exerted  by  Hals  in  these  four  directions 
—namely,  in  the  treatment  of  still-life,  in  composition, 


THE  STORY  OF  DUTCH  PAINTING 

in  regard  for  values,  and  in  the  habit  of  skilful  brush- 
work— was  supplemented  by  that  of  Rembrandt,  which 
dates  from  1632,  the  year  in  which  he  moved  to  Amster- 
dam. The  latter  also  affected  the  development  of  genre, 
but  not  in  the  line  of  direct  suggestion.  Rembrandt's 
technique  in  its  most  characteristic  aspects  was  and  still 
remains  too  personal  an  expression  of  his  o\\ti  attitude 
of  mind  and  of  its  changes  of  mood,  varjdng  according 
to  the  nature  of  each  subject  interpreted,  to  permit  of 
imitation.  Rembrandt  contributed  ideas.  He  enlarged 
the  scope  of  genre  by  the  suggestion,  on  the  one  hand, 
of  a  further  range  of  subject,  and,  on  the  other,  of  a  new 
motive  in  technique.  It  was  especially  the  example  of 
his  religious  pictures  that  affected  the  idea  of  subject, 
either  directly  leading  other  artists  to  a  similar  treatment 
of  religious  themes  or  indirectly  encouraging  them  to 
include  some  kind  of  sentiment  in  the  domestic  scenes 
they  depicted.  JMeanwhile,  by  the  example  of  his  own 
use  of  chiaroscuro,  he  encouraged  a  more  subtle  study  of 
values,  at  once  more  intimate  and  varied  and  more  ex- 
pressive. 

An  admirable  epitome  of  the  character  of  Rem- 
brandt's influence  upon  his  contemporaries  is  in  the  old 
Pinakothek  in  INIunich.  In  the  first  place  there  is  a 
Holy  Family,  painted  in  1631,  the  year  before  he  moved 
from  Leyden.  It  is  about  six  feet  high,  the  figures  being 
life-size;  but  the  conception  and  treatment  of  the  sub- 
ject are  thoroughly  in  the  way  of  genre.  The  picture 
presents  a  glimpse  of  the  interior  of  a  Dutch  home :  the 
tools  hanging  on  the  walls,  the  face,  figure,  and  costume 
of  the  mother,  the  Child  swathed  in  a  shawl,  and  the  fa- 
ll 102] 


HALS  AND  REMBRANDT 

miliar  accompaniment  of  the  cradle— all  are  distinctively 
Dutch  in  character.  The  mother,  with  a  pretty  gestm-e 
of  tenderness,  is  fondling  one  of  the  Baby's  feet,  looking 
do\Mi  at  it  with  a  gentle  smile,  while  the  father  bends 
forward  over  the  cradle  in  an  attitude  of  reverent  solici- 
tude. The  whole  scene  breathes  the  quiet  happiness  of 
domestic  life.  In  its  character  the  picture  is  essentially 
a  genre  subject.  At  the  time  it  was  painted  Dou  was 
working  in  Rembrandt's  studio,  and  to  its  influence  it  is 
not  unreasonable  to  trace  at  least  some  of  the  tendency 
that  Dou  exhibited  in  later  years  to  introduce  just  such 
tender  and  reverential  sentiment  .into  his  own  work,  as 
witness  The  Young  31  other  at  the  Hague  Gallery  -and 
The  Old  Woman  Saying  Grace  in  the  Pinakothek  in 
Munich.  In  fact,  The  Holy  Family  is  already  charac- 
teristic of  the  sentiment  that  became  infused  into  genre 
by  the  example  of  Rembrandt. 

Intimately  connected  with  this  is  the  example  of  Rem- 
brandt's technical  use  of  chiaroscuro,  used  either  for  the 
purpose  of  interpreting  sentiment  or  of  simply  adding 
to  the  interest  of  the  color-scheme.  The  foretaste  of  this 
is  given  in  a  series  of  six  pictures  of  Biblical  subjects  in 
the  Pinakothek,  painted  for  the  Stadtholder,  Frederick 
Henry:  two  of  them.  The  Descent  from  the  Cross  and 
The  Elevation  of  the  Cross,  in  1633;  The  Ascension, 
1636;  The  Burial  and  The  Resurrection,  1639;  and  The 
Adoration  of  the  Shepherds,  1646.  About  three  feet 
high,  thej^  approximate  to  the  familiar  size  of  genre,  and 
are  distinctly  genre  in  conception  and  treatment.  More- 
over, they  are  arched  over  at  the  top,  a  device  that  be- 
came popular  with  Dou  and  other  genre  painters,  who 


THE  STORY  OF  DUTCH  PAINTING 

frequently  substituted  for  the  formal  arch  a  draped  cur- 
tain, the  result  being  to  set  the  main  part  of  the  scene 
back,  and  thus  increase  the  effect  of  looking  into  it. 
This,  however,  is  not  merely  to  suggest  more  vividly  the 
third  dimension.  For  Rembrandt  in  these  pictures  has 
set  the  example  of  concentrating  the  high  light  on  a  few 
features  of  the  composition,  surrounding  these  with 
lighted  objects  of  lower  value,  and  finally  inclosing  all 
in  a  ring  of  shadow,  so  that  one  seems  to  be  looking  into 
a  circular  concavity  out  of  the  gloom  of  which  certain 
•objects  emerge  into  view  with  greater  or  less  distinct- 
ness. The  device  is  used  by  Rembrandt  to  heighten  the 
dramatic  and  emotional  significance  of  the  composition, 
and  was  so  applied  by  some  of  his  followers,  notably  by 
Maes,  while  by  others  the  principle  was  adopted  as  a 
means  of  giving  force,  variety,  and  added  charm  of  mys- 
tery to  their  color-schemes.  It  became,  in  fact,  one  of 
the  most  characteristic  of  the  technical  methods  of  Hol- 
land genre. 

Apropos  of  this  series  it  is  interesting  to  note,  as  a 
side-light  on  Rembrandt's  use  of  models,  that  one.  The 
Elevation  of  the  Cross,  contains  a  striking  figure  of  an 
Oriental.  It  was  transferred  in  reduced  size  from  a  pic- 
ture of  the  same  subject  painted  in  the  preceding  year, 
1632,  which  is  now  owned  by  the  New  York  collector 
Mr.  W.  K.  Vanderbilt.  JNIoreover,  the  head  and  bust 
of  this  man  appear  as  the  subject  of  another  picture, 
painted  in  the  same  year  as  The  Elevation,  which  now 
hangs  in  the  INIunich  Pinakothek. 

To  recapitulate,  then,  in  this  series  of  the  Old  Pina- 
kothek we  have  a  striking  example  of  Rembrandt's  mo- 


HALS  AND  REMBRANDT 

tive  in  the  treatment  of  Biblical  subjects,  developed 
during  the  period  from  1633  to  1646  of  his  greatest  popu- 
larity in  Amsterdam.  It  involved,  as  we  have  seen,  the 
translation  of  the  heroic  and  grandiloquent  style  of  re- 
ligious subjects,  as  practised  by  the  Italians,  into  the 
homelier  poignancy  and  intimate  personal  suggestive- 
ness  of  meaning  that  commended  themselves  to  the  sim- 
ple directness  and  home-love  of  the  Hollanders.  It 
practically  converted  the  religious  picture  into  one  of 
genre ;  and  its  example  led  to  a  similar  treatment  of  these 
subjects  by  other  painters,  notably  Carel  Fabritius, 
Govert  Flinck,  Ferdinand  Bol,  and  Gerbrandt  van  den 
Eeckhout,  while  to  the  painters  of  domestic  genre  pure 
and  simple  it  also  supplied  the  motive  of  sentiment  and 
a  new  motive  of  technique. 

It  is  true  that  sentiment  plays  a  comparatively  small 
part  in  Holland  genre.  Dou  has  been  mentioned  as  fol- 
lowing the  example  of  Rembrandt  in  this  respect,  and 
the  other  prominent  instance  is  Nicolaes  IVIaes,  who  en- 
tered the  master's  studio  in  1648,  that  is  to  say,  two  years 
after  the  completion  of  The  Adoration  of  the  Shepherds, 
the  latest  of  the  Munich  series.  How  far  Rembrandt 
had  influenced  the  bias  of  Maes's  temperament  toward 
sentiment  is  conjectural,  but  that  he  supplied  the 
younger  man  with  a  technical  principle  for  its  expression 
is  certain.  jNIaes  discovered  the  possibilities  of  emotional 
suggestion  that  existed  in  the  device  of  heightening  the 
luster  of  certain  parts  of  the  composition  by  the  contrast 
of  veiled  and  shadowed  color  elsewhere.  With  him  it 
does  not  reach  the  dramatic  force  or  depth  of  emotional 
appeal  that  the  master's  use  of  it  involves,  but  neverthe- 

Clos] 


THE  STORY  OF  DUTCH  PAINTING 

less  becomes  the  expression  of  a  sentiment  that,  as  Bode 
remarks,  is  nearer  to  the  sentiment  of  Rembrandt  than 
that  of  any  other  artist  of  the  school. 

On  the  other  hand,  by  those  genre  artists  of  the  period 
who  were  not  given  to  sentiment,  the  principle  of  Rem- 
brandt's chiaroscuro  was  adopted  for  the  sake  of  aesthetic 
considerations,  founded  upon  the  facts  of  sight.  It  may 
or  may  not  be  true  that  Rembrandt,  himself  derived  it 
from  his  observation  of  the  light  in  the  dim  recesses  of 
his  father's  mill,  but  at  any  rate  the  artists  of  genre  in- 
teriors soon  saw  its  application  to  their  subjects,  and 
were  led  by  it  to  study  with  more  discrimination  the  in- 
finite variety  of  light  value.  The  result  was  twofold. 
Their  color-schemes  grow  more  subtle  and  refined,  and 
the  tonality  becomes  impregnated  with  the  suggestion 
of  atmosphere.  Thus  the  example  of  Rembrandt's 
chiaroscuro  wedded  to  that  of  Hals's  facile  craftsman- 
ship developed  the  inimitable  perfection  of  technique 
which  characterizes  the  best  works  of  Holland  genre. 

It  is  the  latter,  one  may  observe  in  conclusion,  that  has 
most  affected  the  modern  revival  of  painting  in  Holland. 
While  foreign  painters,  in  portraiture  especially,  have 
been  disposed  to  follow  the  direct  example  of  Frans 
Hals,  the  Hollanders  themselves,  both  in  landscape  and 
genre,  have  been  influenced  by  the  so-called  "little  mas- 
ters," and,  in  the  case  of  Josef  Israels,  by  Rembrandt 
himself.  And  the  result  of  this  influence  has  been  to 
make  modern  Dutch  painters,  as  a  group,  the  best  brush- 
men  of  their  age. 


Cioe] 


CHAPTER  VII 

DUTCH  GENRE 

THE  tendency  toward  genre  painting  began  be- 
fore the  separation  of  the  Holland  Free  State 
from  the  Spanish  Netherlands.  Pieter  Brvieghel 
the  Elder,  who  died  in  Brussels  in  1570,  is  regarded  as 
the  leader  of  the  group  of  painters  who  depicted  the  life 
of  the  people,  particular^  in  open-air  surroundings. 
His  work,  for  example,  and  that  of  one  of  his  pupils, 
Lucas  van  Valckenborch,  make  a  very  lively  showing  in 
one  of  the  galleries  of  the  Art-History  Museum  in 
Vienna.  Here,  in  a  number  of  canvases  of  considerable 
size,  crowded  with  figures,  are  pictured  scenes  of  peas- 
ants, merrymaking,  harvesting,  engaged  in  a  vintage 
festival,  or  skating  and  sleighing,  while  there  is  even  a 
representation  of  rich  folk  enjoying  a  picnic  in  a  park. 
These  painters  and  their  contemporaries  in  similar  sub- 
jects are  to  be  reckoned  in  the  Flemish  School.  But 
there  is  one,  Pieter  Aertz,  surnamed  "Long  Pieter," 
who,  although  he  died  in  1575,  before  any  separation 
from  Flanders  was  dreamed  of,  may  be  considered  as  a 
forerunner  of  distinctly  Dutch  genre,  since  he  was  bom 
in  Amsterdam  and  lived  there  for  the  greater  part  of  his 
life.  An  interesting  example  of  his  work.  The  Egg 
Dance  J  is  in  the  Rijks  Museum.  The  scene  is  a  kitchen, 
DOT] 


THE  STORY  OF  DUTCH  PAINTING 

opening  into  a  garden,  and  the  floor  is  scattered  with 
various  articles — a  bowl,  a  shoe,  onions  and  eggs — among 
which  a  young  man  is  jauntily  dancing,  while  a  group 
beside  the  hearth  applauds.  As  far  as  the  character  and 
spirit  of  the  scene  go,  the  picture  is  thoroughly  represen- 
tative of  the  older  kind  of  genre,  which  portrays  the  type 
rather  than  the  individual,  and  nimierous  little  episodes 
massed  into  a  group,  rather  than  a  single  incident  or 
phase  of  life  wrought  out  completely.  For  this  becomes 
the  tendency  of  the  later  and  distinctively  Holland 
genre,  which,  as  the  technical  motives  of  the  artists  grew 
in  refinement  and  possibly  as  the  taste  of  the  public  be- 
came more  refined,  resulted  in  the  subjects  being  drawn 
more  and  more  from  the  home  life  of  the  well-to-do  and 
fashionable.  By  this  time  the  genre  pictures  have  ceased 
to  represent  an  amusing  picture-book  of  manners  and 
customs;  they  have  in  a  sense  lost  their  interest  of  sub- 
ject, the  matter  of  which  they  treat  counting  for  very 
little  in  comparison  with  the  charming  manner  of  the 
treatment. 

The  three  greatest  masters  of  Holland  genre,  Ver- 
meer,  Terborch,  and  Jan  Steen,  must  be  considered  sepa- 
rately. ISIeanwhile  we  will  summarize  the  method  and 
manner  of  some  of  the  most  important  among  the  able 
but  lesser  artists. 

ADKIAEN  VAN  OSTADE 

Van  Ostade,  M^ho  was  a  pupil  of  Hals  and  later  became 
influenced  by  Rembrandt,  stands  midway  between  the 
earlier  and  the  later  motives  of  genre.    His  favorite  and, 


DUTCH  GENRE 

on  the  whole,  most  characteristic  subjects  are  groups  of 
peasants  revehng  or  squabbling  in  the  kitchens  or  arou\id 
the  doors  of  inns.  The  figures  are  squat  and  lumpish, 
curiously  like  animated  roly-poly  puddings,  only  re- 
deemed from  commonness  by  the  limpid  coloring  and 
the  suave,  facile  manner  of  the  brushwork  that  he  had 
derived  from  Hals.  Sometimes,  however,  he  selects  a 
few  figures  and  gives  them  an  individual  characteriza- 
tion. In  fact,  the  latter  pictures,  as  well  as  his  groups 
of  peasants,  show  a  remarkable  affinity  to  Brouwer's 
treatment  of  similar  subjects.  For  this  eccentric  and 
original  artist,  an  "Adonis  in  rags,"  as  he  has  been 
called,  a  refined  painter  of  coarse  themes,  though  Flem- 
ish by  birth,  seems  to  have  come  under  the  influence  of 
Frans  Hals,  lived  in  Haarlem  and  Amsterdam,  and  was 
really  in  his  art  representative  of  the  Holland  School  of 
genre.  Van  Ostade,  therefore,  must  have  known  him 
and  may  well  have  been  affected  by  his  example.  At  any 
rate,  the  character  and  spirit  of  his  earlier  pictures  corre- 
spond with  those  of  Brouwer's,  though  the  latter's  work 
exhibits  a  more  refined  artistic  sense.  In  time,  however, 
Van  Ostade  came  under  the  Rembrandtesque  manner; 
the  thinness  of  his  painting  develops  into  a  richer  im- 
pasto,  the  feeling  of  the  composition  becomes  larger,  the 
choice  of  subject  more  distinguished,  and  his  treatment 
more  studied  and  sympathetic,  while  the  tone  is  warmer 
and  more  luminous  in  consequence  of  the  shrewder  use 
of  chiaroscuro.  Later  his  manner  again  changes  to  one 
of  extreme  refinement,  almost  finical.  The  surface,  to 
use  an  expressive  French  word,  leche,  seems  licked  into 
glossiness;  the  tone  has  become  cold  and  grayish;  the 

D09: 


THE  STORY  OF  DUTCH  PAINTING 

compositions  are  more  studied  but  less  picturesque;  yet 
the  colors  have  an  extraordinary  transparency.  The 
whole  canvas  has  less  the  air  of  intimate  observation  than 
of  something  wrought  over  in  the  studio. 

These  three  phases  of  Van  Ostade's  development  can 
be  studied  side  by  side  in  the  examples  of  his  work  in 
the  Gallery  of  The  Hague.  Representative  of  his  first 
manner  is  Peasants'  Holiday,  painted  in  163-  (the  last 
figure  is  undecipherable)  ;  of  the  second,  Marriage  Pro- 
posal, which  belongs  to  the  period  between  1650  and 
1655;  and  of  the  third  manner,  Peasants  in  an  Inn  and 
The  Fiddler,  painted  respectively  in  1662  and  1673. 

Van  Ostade  died  in  Haarlem  in  1685.  Among  his  pu- 
pils were  his  brother  Isaac  van  Ostade  (1621-1649) ,  Cor- 
nelis  Bega  (1620-1664),  and  Cornelis  Dusart  (1660- 
1704) .  The  last  named  inherited  a  great  number  of  his 
master's  studies  and  sketches,  which  he  worked  upon  and 
finished.  These  after  Dusart's  death  were  sold  as  his 
own,  a  fact  which  helps  to  explain  the  similarity  of  his 
style  to  that  of  Adriaen  van  Ostade.  Bega  often  imitated 
the  latter's  choice  of  subject,  and  also  with  some  success 
his  manner  of  gray  tonality,  but  his  colors  lack  transpar- 
ency, and  the  flesh  parts  are  dry  and  brickish.  The  out- 
door scenes  of  Isaac  van  Ostade,  alive  with  figures  in 
characteristic  action,  are  exceedingly  interesting  as  pic- 
tures of  the  "passing  show"  of  Dutch  life.  Lastly,  it  is 
to  the  credit  of  Adriaen  van  Ostade  that  he  was  the 
teacher  of,  or  at  least  exercised  considerable  influence 
over,  Jan  Steen  during  the  latter's  sojourn  in  Haarlem. 
But  the  manner  of  his  own  pictures  is  that  of  the  earlier 
genre  which  preceded  the  great  School  of  Holland. 

Clio] 


DUTCH  GENRE 


GERARD  (gERRIT)  DOU 

This  artist,  born  in  Leyden,  1613,  and  dying  there  in 
1675,  spent  his  whole  hfe  in  his  native  city,  helped  to 
found  its  Guild  of  St.  Luke,  and  influenced  several 
other  genre  painters.  Among  the  latter  were  Gabriel 
Metsu,  Godf ried  Schalcken,  Pieter  Cornelisz  van  Slinge- 
land,  and  Frans  van  Mieris  the  Elder,  who  handed  on 
the  tradition  of  the  Leyden  School  to  his  son,  Willem  van 
^Mieris.  Dou  himself  had  enjoyed  the  influence  of  Rem- 
brandt, in  whose  studio  he  worked  during  the  three  years 
preceding  the  master's  move  to  Amsterdam  in  1631. 
But  before  this  time  he  had  been  instructed  by  his  father, 
who  was  a  painter  on  glass,  and  by  Bartholomeus  Do- 
lando,  an  engraver.  Don's  own  matured  style  very  re- 
markably reflects  both  the  earlier  and  the  later  experi- 
ences of  his  training.  While  he  learned  to  feel  his  subject 
in  the  manner  of  Rembrandt,  he  contrived  also  to  see  it 
with  a  precise  eye  for  detail  and  to  render  it  with  the 
nicety  of  a  painter  on  glass  or  of  one  who  uses  the  burin. 
He  was  an  impeccable  draftsman  and  a  good  composer, 
so  long  as  the  subject  contained  only  a  few  figures  and 
was  treated  in  a  small  size.  For  large  canvases  and  the 
handling  of  a  complicated  composition  his  style  was  al- 
together too  minute  in  character.  On  the  other  hand,  his 
color  is  always  harmonious,  though  in  some  works  in- 
clined to  an  excessive  polish;  and  the  chiaroscuro,  skil- 
fully applied,  is,  when  the  subject  permits,  very  charm- 
ingly expressive  of  the  sentiment.  He  devoted  himself 
to  the  representation  of  interiors  and,  as  we  have  seen, 

cm: 


THE  STORY  OF  DUTCH  PAINTING 

adopted  the  device  of  showing  them  through  an  arch  or 
beyond  a  lambrequin,  formed  of  a  heavily  draped  cur- 
tain, frequently  also  representing  one  or  more  figures  at 
a  window  with  the  obscurity  of  the  room  behind  them. 
In  thus  adapting  Rembrandt's  principle  of  chiaroscuro 
to  the  rendering  of  the  physical  phenomenon  of  a  con- 
cave space  more  or  less  immersed  in  shadow,  no  one  was 
more  skilful  than  Dou.  To  give  depth  and  quality  to 
the  obscurity  of  the  distance  and  especially  of  the  ceiling, 
he  would  hang  a  chandelier  or  lantern  in  the  middle  dis- 
tance and  catch  the  light  upon  it.  Similarly,  he  would 
place  some  objects  in  the  foreground  to  bring  the  latter 
forward,  and  then  between  these  two  foci  of  secondary 
light  concentrate  or  scatter  the  main  group  of  figures  in 
highest  illumination. 

The  two  finest  examples  of  his  skill  in  thus  building 
up  a  composition  of  values  of  light  are  The  Young 
Mother,  in  the  gallery  of  The  Hague,  and  The  Dropsical 
Woman  of  the  Louvre.  The  former,  because  of  its 
charming  sentiment,  is  Don's  most  popular  picture ;  but 
the  other,  in  consequence  of  the  superior  simplicity  and 
concentration  of  its  composition,  the  comparative  breadth 
of  its  treatment  and  fuller  richness  of  color  and  quality 
of  chiaroscuro,  is  without  much  doubt  his  masterpiece. 
However,  another  example  which  approaches  it  very 
closely  is  A  Lady  at  her  Toilet,  in  the  Munich  Gallery. 
Don's  interest  in  chiaroscuro  led  him  to  experiment  with 
so-called  night-pieces,  where  the  gloom  of  the  interior 
is  illuminated  by  a  candle  that  makes  a  central  spot  of 
brilliance,  fitfully  reflected  in  a  partially  diffused  glow. 
Such  are  An  Old  Woman  who  has  Lost  her  Thread  and 

[112;] 


DUTCH  GENRE 

the  Young  Man  and  Girl  in  a  Cellar,  both  in  the  Dres- 
den Gallery ;  while  the  most  elaborate  and  famous  exam- 
ple is  TJie  Night  School  of  the  Rijks  Museum,  somewhat 
damaged  by  time,  in  which  there  are  five  separate  points 
of  varying  degrees  of  illumination. 

In  a  picture  in  the  Dresden  Gallery  Dou  has  repre- 
sented himself  at  work  in  his  studio,  a  bare  and  homely 
room,  lighted  by  a  large  window  on  the  left.  This  win- 
dow, with  slight  differences  of  shape  and  size,  appears 
in  many  of  his  works,  occupying  a  similar  position; 
while,  even  when  it  is  not  shown,  its  effect  is  noticeable 
in  the  artist's  tendency  to  light  his  compositions  from 
the  left.  Another  instance  of  his  tendency  to  repetition 
of  motive  may  be  traced  in  the  frequency  with  which  he 
used  over  and  over  again  the  same  piece  of  furniture  or 
object  of  furnishing.  For  example,  in  a  still-life  (No. 
1708)  in  the  Dresden  Gallery  appears  the  same  candle- 
stick that  is  introduced  in  a  number  of  other  pictures. 
The  point  is  interesting  as  showing  the  way  in  which 
Dou  artificially  arranged  his  subject-matter;  and  he  was 
followed  in  this  respect  as  in  others  by  all  the  genre 
painters.  Each  had  his  particular  motive  of  composi- 
tion and  freely  repeated  it ;  his  particular  bit  of  costume 
or  article  of  furnishing  that  with  variations  of  arrange- 
ment he  used  repeatedly.  Holland  genre,  in  fact,  ceased 
almost  from  its  beginning  to  be  a  direct  representation 
of  actual  domestic  life.  It  was  based  upon  the  latter, 
but  the  artist  reserved  a  complete  liberty  of  selection 
and  arrangement.  He  was  not  intent  upon  illustrating 
the  life,  and  only  borrowed  hints  from  it  to  assist  him  in 
creating  a  picture  of  his  own  invention.    It  is  a  point  to 

8  [HSU 


THE  STORY  OF  DUTCH  PAINTING 

be  observed  by  the  modern  public,  which  is  apt  to  resent, 
as  shallow  in  motive  and  uninteresting  in  subject,  a  pic- 
ture which  has  been  designed  mainly  or  solely  as  a  pic- 
ture; that  is  to  say,  for  the  beauty  of  form,  color,  light, 
and  tone  that  may  be  expressed  in  a  composition  of  ob- 
jects, arbitrarily  brought  together  for  this  purpose. 
Such  an  attitude  on  the  part  of  an  artist  is,  however, 
thoroughly  justified  by  the  example  of  the  Holland 
School  of  genre,  which  it  is  the  fashion  to-day  to  admire 
so  generously. 

NICOLAES  MAES 

Some  may  criticize  this  placing  of  Maes  among  the  lesser 
artists  of  genre.  Bode  ranks  him  with  Vermeer  and 
Pieter  de  Hooch  among  the  "great  genre  painters  of 
Holland,"  and  adds  that  "there  is  scarcely  any  pupil  of 
Rembrandt's  who  approaches  the  great  master  so  nearly 
as  Maes  does  in  this  series  of  pictures."  He  is  alluding 
to  Dreaming,  or,  as  it  is  sometimes  called,  A  Reverie,  a 
young  girl  gazing  out  of  a  window,  and  to  Asking  a  Bless- 
ing, in  the  Rijks  Museum;  to  The  Young  Card-Play ers, 
in  the  National  Gallery,  and  to  Nurse  and  Children 
with  Goat-Carriage,  in  a  private  collection;  and  also  to 
certain  pictures  of  old  women,  such  as  the  one  o\Mied  by 
Mr.  John  G.  Johnson  of  Philadelphia,  that  was  recently 
seen  in  the  Exhibition  of  Dutch  Art  in  the  ^letropolitan 
Museum.  In  all  of  these  pictures  the  figures  are  life- 
size,  and,  to  quote  Bode,  "one  weakness  is  common  to 
all  of  them :  that  they  present  simple  motives  on  a  large 
canvas  with  rough  execution  and  without  the  powerful 
1:114;] 


OLD  WOMAN  SPINNING 

RIJKS  MUSEUM,  AMSTERDAM 


NICOLAES  MAES 


i  id 


I 


DUTCH  GENRE 

and  individual  language  with  which  Rembrandt  renders 
similar  genre  pieces." 

The  truth  of  this  criticism  seems  to  be  sufficient  of 
itself  to  exclude  Maes  from  the  ranks  of  the  great  genre 
painters,  whose  works  are  great  of  their  kind  just  be- 
cause these  painters  so  admirably  fitted  the  size  of  their 
pictures  to  the  scope  of  their  intention  and  their  powers, 
and  wrought  their  canvases  to  the  highest  pitch  of  a 
personally  inspired  technical  perfection.  This  became 
the  ideal  of  Holland  genre  and  remains  its  chief  distinc- 
tion ;  and  Maes  only  attains  to  it  in  his  smaller  canvases, 
such  as  the  two  examples  of  An  Old  Woinan  Spinning, 
in  the  Rijks  Museum,  and  An  Old  Woman  Peeling 
Apples  (the  spinning-wheel  near  her),  in  the  Berlin 
Gallery,  and  The  Cradle  and  The  Dutch  Housewife  of 
the  National  Gallery.  The  period  of  these  small  genre 
pictures,  beginning  about  1655  and  lasting  for  ten  years, 
represents  the  high-water  mark  of  Maes's  artistic  career. 

In  his  earlier  period  he  shows  a  preference  for  red, 
juxtaposed  with  black  and  less  frequently  with  yellow, 
that  continues  to  characterize  his  work.  But  at  first,  as 
in  The  Dreamer,  it  is  the  brightness  of  hue  that  seems  to 
attract  him.  He  has  bathed  the  red  shutter  and  the  girl's 
figure  and  the  leaves  and  fruit  of  the  apricot-tree,  that 
grows  beside  the  window  from  which  she  leans,  in  a  warm 
sunlight,  and  the  latter,  blended  with  soft  shadows,  glows 
upon  her  face  and  hands.  All  the  several  textures  are 
rendered  with  admirable  veracity,  and  a  resemblance  to 
life,  that  would  be  startling  but  for  the  quiet,  pensive  ex- 
pression of  the  girl's  figure  that  pervades  the  canvas.  The 
picture  attracts  and  charms,  but  does  it  hold  one's  inter- 
[115] 


THE  STORY  OF  DUTCH  PAINTING 

est?  Scarcely,  if  you  come  back  to  it  after  seeing  the 
more  imaginative  treatment  of  chiaroscuro  in  the  Card- 
Play  ers  of  the  National  Gallery;  and  still  less,  if  you 
compare  it  with  one  of  Maes's  smaller  genre  pictures  in 
the  Rijks  JNIuseum;  for  example,  An  Old  Woman  Spin- 
ning (No.  1504).  Here  the  red  reappears  in  the  table- 
cloth, and  the  black  spot  is  made  by  her  head  against 
the  drabbish  white  of  the  wall,  but  the  yellow  is  disguised 
in  her  olive-green  dress,  which  shows  the  whitish-gray 
sleeves  of  the  undergarment.  It  is  a  cooler  scheme  of 
color,  more  restrained  yet  richer,  and  it  is  lighted  with- 
out any  striking  contrasts  of  chiaroscuro.  Instead,  the 
humble  apartment  is  permeated  with  a  dimly  luminous 
atmosphere,  out  of  which  certain  parts  of  the  composi- 
tion emerge  into  clearness,  while  the  rest  is  veiled  in  half- 
tones and  shadow.  The  picture  is  extraordinarily  real, 
exquisite  in  technique,  and  deeply  moving  in  its  sugges- 
tion of  the  half-lights  of  existence  among  the  aged  and 
the  poor.  The  secret  is,  that  what  was  experiment  or  as- 
sertion in  the  larger  canvas  has  here  become  the  free  ex- 
pression of  the  artist's  simple  and  sincere  sentiment. 
Sentiment  and  expression  are  united  in  a  natural  and 
complete  equipoise. 

During  the  last  twenty-five  years  of  his  life  Maes 
seems  to  have  gained  a  rather  scanty  subsistence  by 
painting  portraits.  Some  of  these  are  of  high  merit ;  the 
Portrait  of  a  Man,  for  example,  in  the  Fine  Arts  Mu- 
seum at  Budapest,  which  represents  a  gray-haired  and 
bearded  man,  with  black  velvet  cap  and  black  coat  edged 
with  brown  fur,  sitting  in  a  red-backed  chair.  Thus  it 
repeats  the  artist's  favorite  color-scheme,  and  moreover, 


OLD  WOMAN  IX  MEDITATION  GABRIEL  METSU 

RIJKS  MUSEUM,  AMSTERDAM 


DUTCH  GENRE 

in  its  grave,  tender  rendering  of  old  age,  preserves  the 
fine  sentiment  of  his  best  period.  But  such  noble  charac- 
terization of  humanity  is  rare  with  him,  for,  impelled  by- 
need  and  very  likely,  by  the  taste  of  his  public,  he  became 
an  imitator  of  Van  Dyck's  elegance.  With  INIaes  this 
elegance  became  pinchbeck,  his  fine  ladies  and  gentle- 
men being  very  cheap  imitations  of  their  models. 

GABRIEL  METSU 

Born  in  Leyden  in  1630,  the  son  of  a  painter,  Gabriel 
jNIetsu  was  one  of  the  precocious  talents  of  the  Holland 
School,  for  in  his  sixteenth  year  he  helped  to  form  the 
Guild  of  St.  Luke  in  his  native  city.  For  the  purpose  of 
studying  his  art,  his  brief  career  of  thirty-seven  years 
(he  died  in  1667)  may  be  conveniently  divided  into  two 
parts,  preceding  or  following  the  year  1655,  in  which  he 
moved  to  Amsterdam  and  came  under  the  direct  influ- 
ence of  Rembrandt.  But  it  would  appear  from  his  own 
early  pictures,  that  even  during  his  life  in  Leyden  he 
had  by  some  means  obtained  a  knowledge  of  this  mas- 
ter's work.  Metsu's  actual  teacher,  according  to  Hou- 
braken,  had  been  Dou,  though  his  own  work  shows  no 
direct  trace  of  the  latter's  influence.  On  the  other  hand, 
that  of  Hals  is  apparent.  Meanwhile  he  experimented 
for  himself  and  produced  several  pictures  v/hich,  like 
The  Blacksmith,  in  the  Rijks  Museum,  are  founded  on 
the  motive  of  a  workshop,  lighted  fitfully  by  a  forge  and 
scattered  with  tools.  In  fact,  as  Bode  says,  the  work 
of  his  early  period  is  distinguished  by  "restless  composi- 
tion, hurried  movement,  and  careless  treatment." 
D17] 


THE  STORY  OF  DUTCH  PAINTING 

Moving  to  Amsterdam,  he  became  one  of  the  group 
that  circled  round  Rembrandt,  and  at  first  was  directly- 
influenced  by  Maes,  and  perhaps  by  Rembrandt  himself; 
witness  his  Old  Woman  in  Meditation  of  the  Rijks  Mu- 
seum and  his  fine  portrait  of  an  old  lady  in  the  Berlin 
Gallery.  Then  almost  at  a  jump  he  reaches  an  indi- 
vidual style  of  his  own.  It  grows  out  of  his  attitude 
toward  the  subjects  that— with  occasional  exceptions  of 
marketing  scenes,  such  as  the  two  pictures  respectively 
of  a  man  and  of  a  woman  selling  poultry,  in  the  Dresden 
Gallery,  and  the  Vegetable  Market  of  the  Louvre— he 
now  favors.  They  are  intimate  presentations  of  the  gra- 
ciously prosperous  life  of  the  middle-class  burghers,  be- 
fore extravagance  and  ostentation  had  eaten  their  way 
into  Dutch  society.  That  his  art  thus  settled  to  a  distinct 
purpose  may  be  partly  attributed  to  the  fact  that  the  art- 
ist himself  settled  down  to  domestic  life,  marrying  Isabella 
Wolff,  April  1, 1663.  A  picture  in  the  Dresden  Gallery, 
dated  two  years  earlier,  Lovers  at  Breakfast,  shows  him- 
self and  the  lady  sitting  side  by  side,  one  of  his  arms 
about  her  shoulders  and  the  other  lifted  as  he  holds  a  tall 
wine-glass.  It  is  curiously  interesting  in  its  resemblance 
and  difference  to  Rembrandt's  picture  of  himself  and 
Saskia  that  hangs  in  an  adjoining  gallery  of  the  same 
museum. 

The  style  which  ^letsu  formed  for  himself  is  in  accord- 
ance with  the  character  and  treatment  of  the  subjects  to 
which  he  now  devoted  himself.  He  abandons  the  Rem- 
brandtesque  principle  of  chiaroscuro,  for  there  is  no 
mystery  or  depth  of  sentiment  in  his  point  of  view.  He 
is  frankly  and  simply  interested  in  the  genial  externals 


\ 


DUTCH  GENRE 

of  his  subject;  yet  something  of  the  JNIaes  influence  still 
affects  his  outlook.  He  sees  the  comfort  and  happiness 
of  the  home  life  and  reflects  it  in  the  composure  and  re- 
fined orderliness  that  now  pervade  his  compositions.  De- 
voting himself  to  the  simplest  and  directest  way  of  pre- 
senting the  subject,  he  avoids  all  striving  after  effect  and 
secures  a  quietly  balanced  ensemble,  wherein  every  fig- 
ure and  object  is  rendered  with  sureness  of  drawing, 
regard  for  the  beauty  of  local  color,  and  the  utmost  per- 
fection of  truthful  realization.  The  date  at  which  Metsu 
thus  found  himself  is  placed  about  1660,  and  the  picture 
in  the  JNIetropolitan  INIuseum,  A  Music  Party,  dated 
1659,  serves  to  mark  the  transition.  Its  composition  is 
still  inclined  to  be  "restless" ;  but  the  treatment,  far  from 
being  "careless,"  is  distinguished  by  a  very  sincere  feel- 
ing for  the  objective  beauty  of  the  salient  details,  while 
at  least  one  figure,  that  of  the  cavalier  on  the  right,  ex- 
hibits the  concentrated  repose  of  movement  which  be- 
came one  of  the  most  delightful  elements  of  Metsu's 
art.  It  is  seen  developed  throughout  the  whole  compo- 
sition in  ]VIr.  J.  P.  jMorgan's  Visit  to  the  Nursery,  where, 
notwithstanding  the  sprightliness  of  feeling  that  ani- 
mates the  figures,  each  of  them  has  its  own  plastic  indi- 
vidualit}^  of  self-contained  movement.  Every  detail 
has  a  perfection  of  finish  that  is  never  finical  or  at  the 
expense  of  the  unity  of  the  whole.  The  hands  and  heads 
have  a  special  distinction  of  fluent  modeling  and  of  ex- 
quisite expression.  These  qualities,  combined  with  rich- 
ness of  local  color,  characterize  the  pictures  of  the  sixties, 
as  may  be  seen  in  the  examples  in  the  National  GaUery, 
the  Wallace  Collection,  and  the  galleries  of  Dresden, 

Clio] 


THE  STORY  OF  DUTCH  PAINTING 

Amsterdam,  and  The  Hague.  Toward  the  end  of  this 
ten  years  of  highest  production  Metsu's  pictures  grow 
stiff  er  in  composition,  colder  in  color,  and  harder  in  their 
surfaces.  The  beginning  of  this  change  is  noticeable  in 
the  portrait  group  of  The  Family  Geelvink,  in  the  Ber- 
lin Gallery,  and  characterizes  also  some  of  his  latest 
genre  subjects.  Probably  the  cause  was  failing  health, 
for  toward  the  end  of  his  life  he  suffered  from  the  effects 
of  a  bungled  operation. 


PIETER  DE  HOOCH 

PiETER  DE  Hooch,  the  son  of  a  butcher,  was  born  in 
Rotterdam  in  1630,  being  therefore  the  same  age  as 
^letsu  and  two  years  older  than  INIaes  and  Vermeer. 
With  these  last  two  he  has  been  ranked  by  some  critics, 
who  consider  that  the  trio  represents  the  high-water 
mark  of  Holland  genre.  With  Maes's  claim  to  this  dis- 
tinction one  has  ventured"  to  disagree,  and  may  also  dis- 
pute De  Hooch's  for  somewhat  the  same  reason.  The 
latter's  best  period  was  confined  to  ten  years,  1655-1665, 
and  outside  of  that,  especially  toward  the  end  of  his  life, 
he  did  some  quite  indifferent  work. 

Houbraken  makes  the  statement  that  his  teacher  was 
Nicolaes  Berchem.  It  is  accepted  as  a  fact,  the  pre- 
sumption being  that  Berchem  at  the  time  was  living  in 
Amsterdam,  in  which  case  De  Hooch  would  have  be- 
come acquainted  with  Rembrandt's  style.  That  it  did 
not  affect  him,  immediately  at  any  rate,  is  evident  from 
his  early  work,  which  represents  lively  scenes  of  soldiers 
[120] 


DUTCH  GENRE 

and  young  girls,  painted  rather  in  the  manner  of  Dirck 
Hals  or  Duyster.  It  is  possible,  however,  that  even  thus 
early  the  Rembrandt  influence  may  have  been  operating 
upon  him,  as  upon  so  many  of  the  painters  in  Amster- 
dam at  that  time,  by  drawing  his  attention  to  problems 
of  light,  which  eventuallj''  became  the  characteristic  of 
his  art. 

From  1653,  for  two  years,  he  served  as  "painter  and 
footman"  to  Justus  de  la  Grange,  a  rich  merchant  ad- 
venturer, with  whom  he  lived  both  in  Haarlem  and  The 
Hague.  Then  he  married  a  girl  from  Delft  and  moved 
to  that  city,  his  name  appearing  among  the  members  of 
its  guild  from.  1655  to  1657.  It  was  now  that  he  came  in 
touch  with  Vermeer,  whose  example  helped  to  bring  out 
all  that  was  best  in  him.  His  pictures  now  became  ver- 
itable poems  of  light,  wrought  with  extraordinary  con- 
scientiousness and  to  a  high  pitch  of  refinement.  He 
paints  the  courtyards  of  city  houses,  aglow  in  bright  sun- 
shine, cool  rooms  opening  into  warmly  lighted  ones,  the 
vista  often  terminating  in  a  street  or  canal.  Always  the 
varieties  of  light  are  rendered  with  delightful  natural- 
ness and  in  a  way  that  gives  a,  special  charm  to  every 
detail  which  the  light  illumines.  He  is  not  very  skilful 
in  the  representation  of  figures,  but  a  master  in  the  art 
of  placing  them.  They  and  every  object  in  the  scene  not 
only  occupy  their  respective  planes  with  absolute  just- 
ness, but  the  position  assigned  to  them  has  been  selected 
with  an  unerring  eye  for  decorative  effect.  INIoreover, 
no  artist  has  been  so  successful  in  rendering  what  visitors 
to  Holland  rarely  fail  to  observe — the  propriety  and 
cleanliness  of  the  Dutch  home,  and  the  sentiment  that 


THE  STORY  OF  DUTCH  PAINTING 

seems  to  attach  to  every  object  in  it  and  around  it. 
Among  the  lovehest  of  these  interiors  is  No.  426  in  the 
Munich  Pinakothek;  The  Mother,  in  the  Berlin  Gal- 
lery; The  Interior  of  the  National  Gallery;  The  Pantry 
and  The  Interior,  in  the  Rijks  Museum,  and  an  Inte- 
rior in  the  Boston  Museum  of  Fine  Arts;  while  two  no- 
table outdoor  scenes  are  the  National  Gallery's  A  Dutch 
Courtyard  and  the  Family  Group  of  the  Berlin  Gallery. 
All  these  and  others  that  might  be  cited  belong  to  the 
period  between  1655  and  1665.  But  the  enthusiasm 
which  these  arouse  is  sadly  d'lshed  by  many  examples  of 
his  later  manner,  which  are  disconnected  or  restless  in 
composition,  hot  in  color  rather  than  luminous,  and 
heavy  in  the  shadows,  while  others  are  marred  by  exces- 
sive hardness  of  surface  and  triteness  of  overwrought 
detail.  The  latest  date  that  appears  on  any  of  his  paint- 
ings is  1677,  wherefore  it  is  surmised  that  De  Hooch's 
death  occurred  about  this  time. 

FRAt'     VAN  MIERIS  THE  ELDER 

Of  the  painters  bearing  the  name  Van  Mieris  the  most 
considerable  was  Frans  van  Mieris,  surnamed  the  Elder, 
to  distinguish  him  from  his  grandson,  Frans  van  Mieris 
the  Younger.  Between  them  came  Willem  van  Mieris, 
and  the  merit  of  the  three  as  artists  corresponds  with  the 
order  of  their  succession. 

The  elder  Frans,  born  at  Leyden  in  1635,  became  a 

pupil  of  Gerard  Dou,  though,  like  the  latter,  he  had  first 

been  taught  by  a  painter  on  glass.    The  earliest  part  of 

his  career  was  still  within  the  best  period  of  Holland 

[122] 


DUTCH  GENRE 

genre,  but  before  he  died  in  1681  the  dechne  was  come; 
and  it  was  to  this  that  his  son  and  pupil,  Willem,  suc- 
ceeded. Willem's  pictures  are  still  clever  but  tricky, 
hard  and  glossy  in  texture,  trivial  and  often  silly  in  mo- 
tive. As  for  his  son,  Frans  the  Younger,  he  belongs  to 
the  decadence,  and  the  Dutch  consider  his  pictures  of  no 
merit.  There  was  still  another  Mieris,  Jan  by  name,  the 
brother  of  Willem,  who,  however,  lived  mostly  abroad 
and  died  at  the  age*  of  thirty  in  Rome. 

Frans  the  Elder  was  popular  in  his  own  day  and  con- 
tinued to  be  held  in  high  esteem  by  collectors  of  the  eigh- 
teenth century.  He  has  been  ranked  with  Metsu,  but 
not  with  justice  to  the  latter,  for  some  of  his  work  betrays 
that  pettiness  of  motive  and  method  which  marked  the 
decadence  of  genre  and  has  been  aptly  called  the  "snuff- 
box" style.  On  the  other  hand,  he  had  his  moments  of 
more  genuine  artistry,  when  he  would  paint  a  picture 
that  even  in  comparison  with  Metsu  is  acceptable.  These 
are  chiefly  to  be  found  in  the  galleries  of  Munich, 
Vienna,  and  St.  Petersburg.  Among  the  Munich  exam- 
ples is  The  Sick  Woman;  she  seems  to  have  sunk  to  the 
floor  in  a  faint  and  is  being  tended  by  an  old  woman, 
while  a  doctor  in  the  shaded  background  is  holding  up 
a  bottle  of  cordial  to  the  light  and  gazing  at  it— a  figure 
very  familiar  in  Dutch  genre.  Unfortunately  the  sub- 
ject suggests  Jan  Steen  and  the  superior  esprit  with 
which  he  w^ould  have  treated  it.  The  lady  wears  a  red- 
dish jacket  trimmed  with  white  fur,  and  the  same  gar- 
ment reappears  in  The  Oyster  Breakfast.  Here  a  girl 
is  seated  at  a  table  liolding  an  oyster  in  one  hand  and  a 
wine-glass  in  the  other.  The  picture  represents  the  finer 
[123] 


THE  STORY  OF  DUTCH  PAINTING 

side  of  Van  Mieris,  though  it  is  surpassed  by  another 
example  in  the  Munich  Gallery,  The  Girl  Before  a 
Mirror,  which  possesses  the  quality  that  has  suggested 
the  coupling  of  this  artist's  name  with  that  of  Metsu. 

In  the  Art-History  Museum  of  Vienna  is  A  Lady 
and  Her  Doctor,  in  which  he  stands  feeling  her  pulse  as 
she  sits  beside  a  bed.  It  is  sentimentally  imagined,  but 
extremely  clever  in  a  superficial  way,  the  fabrics  being 
imitated  with  extraordinary  skill.  Far  more  satisfac- 
tory is  Cavalier  in  a  Shop.  On  the  right  of  the  fore- 
ground is  a  mass  of  sumptuously  colored  stuffs,  but  the 
man's  costume  and  the  jacket  of  the  woman,  who  stands 
at  a  table  offering  something  to  his  notice,  are  of  black 
velvet.  Beside  her  is  a  curtain  of  ashy  purple,  and  the 
color  of  the  background  of  the  dim  interior  is  a  darkish 
olive,  the  whole  forming  a  tonal  scheme  of  subdued  rich- 
ness. But  the  cavalier  is  chucking  the  woman  under  the 
chin,  her  coy  smile  responding  to  his  smile  of  amorous 
complacency,  while  an  old  man  out  of  the  shadow  of  the 
ingle-nook  watches  them.  It  is  this  sort  of  thing,  coupled 
with  the  skill  in  imitating  textures,  that  especially  com- 
mended this  artist  to  the  taste  of  the  eighteenth  century. 

The  decline  of  genre  reflects  the  changed  conditions  of 
Holland  society.  For  the  old  ideal  of  liberty  had  given 
way  to  one  of  money  and  the  power  that  comes  in  its 
train.  Statesmen,  soldiers,  and  patriots  had  been  suc- 
ceeded by  self-seeking  politicians  and  ambitious  trades- 
men, who  disdained  to  be  burghers  and  aspired  to  the 
luxury  and  ostentation  of  merchant  princes.  "Taste" 
now  became  the  shibboleth,  and  it  was  a  taste  that  aped 

cm] 


LADY  AT  THE  CLAVICHORD 

DRESDEN  GALLERY 


CASPAR  NETSCHER 


DUTCH  GENRE 

the  standards  and  manners  of  the  French,  whose  influ- 
ence became  more  and  more  powerful  in  Holland  as  the 
seventeenth  century  drew  to  a  close. 

Gerard  de  Lairesse,  a  painter  of  Flemish  extraction, 
who  settled  in  Amsterdam  in  the  sixties,  helped  to  estab- 
lish the  vogue  of  "taste."  He  had  a  considerable  follow- 
ing of  students  and  dilettanti  to  whom  he  expounded  his 
views  on  art,  assailing  the  vulgarity  of  such  as  Hals,  and 
advocating  the  courtly  style  by  which  the  theme  is  "en- 
nobled." He  himself  introduced  the  fashion  for  his- 
torical pictures,  vapid  and  theatrical ;  and  these  qualities, 
interpreted  in  a  minute  and  precise  style,  found  their 
way  into  genre.  The  Dutch  interiors  became  trans- 
formed into  palatial  chambers,  decked  with  columns, 
amid  which  the  inmates  strut  and  pose  with  affec- 
tation of  superior  elegance  and  refinement.  Such  are 
the  genre  pictures  of  Caspar  Netscher.  Now  and  then, 
as  in  A  Lady  at  the  Clavichord  of  the  Dresden  Gal- 
lery, his  motive  and  execution  remind  us  that  he  had  the 
privilege  of  being  a  pupil  of  Terborch;  but  these  mo- 
ments are  rare.  Usually  his  pictures  are  but  petty  and 
meretricious  echoes  of  the  great  days  of  genre.  Nor  are 
his  portraits  less  trivial.  They  are  numerously  repre- 
sented in  the  Rijks  Museum  and  other  galleries,  sug- 
gesting the  popularity  that  he  enjoyed  and  also  ex- 
plaining it;  for,  with  few  exceptions,  they  exhibit  the 
shallowness  and  display  of  a  society  that,  like  the  jack- 
daw in  the  fable,  has  borrowed  the  plumes  and  is  aping 
the  manners  of  the  peacock.  The  same  is  true  of  the  por- 
traits of  Godfried  Schalcken,  who  also  indulged  in 
genre  that  supplemented  the  poverty  of  the  artistic  mo- 
1:1253 


THE  STORY  OF  DUTCH  PAINTING 

live  by  the  mild  humor  of  its  subjects.  To  these  names 
of  the  decadence  may  be  added  that  of  Pieter  Cornehsz 
van  Slingeland. 

Before  completing  the  story  of  Dutch  genre  with  a  sep- 
arate notice  of  Terborch,  Jan  Steen,  and  Vermeer,  allu- 
sion must  be  made  to  the  "society  pictures."  Their  pro- 
totype appears  in  Flemish  painting,  in  such  canvases  of 
fashionable  life  as  we  have  already  noted  by  Lucas  van 
Valckenborch.  The  Dutch  development  of  this  motive, 
however,  produced  smaller  canvases,  very  carefully  com- 
posed, with  superior  quality  of  color  and  skilful  render- 
ing of-  detail.  The  leader  in  this  class  of  picture  was 
Dirck  Hals  (1591-1656) ,  who  was  a  pupil  of  his  brother 
Frans ;  and  it  is  the  latter's  corporation  pictures  that  be- 
came the  model  for  corresponding  groups  of  "society 
people,"  banqueting,  engaged  in  concerts,  or  disporting 
themselves  in  garden-parties.  Dirck's  pictures  are  bou- 
quets of  gay  color,  animated  with  lively  and  character- 
istic action,  and,  notwithstanding  their  slightness  of  mo- 
tive and  superficiality  of  technique,  form  attractive  spots 
in  the  galleries  of  Europe.  He,  like  the  rest  of  the  soci- 
ety painters,  varied  these  subjects  with  others  of  an  un- 
fashionable and  sometimes  coarse  description,  involving 
the  amusements  of  the  soldiery  on  furlough  or  in  the  in- 
tervals of  peace.  Willem  Cornelisz  Duyster,  who  died 
in  1635,  painted  creditably  both  these  kinds  of  picture; 
and  two  other  names,  frequently  met  with  in  the  galleries 
and  not  unacceptably,  are  Palamedesz  (1601-1673)  and 
Pieter  Codde  (1600-1678) 


i:i263 


THE  DESPATCH 


CHAPTER  VIII 

GERARD  TERBORCH^  JAN  VERMEER^  AND  JAN  STEEN 

TERBORCH  is  the  aristocrat  among  Dutch 
painters,  Rembrandt  excepted.  But  Rem- 
brandt's is  an  aristocracy  of  genius,  while  Ter- 
borch's  is  an  aristocracy  of  talent  and  temperament.  He 
owed  something  of  this  to  his  father,  who,  besides  being 
a  painter,  held  an  official  post  in  his  native  town,  Zwolle, 
where  Gerard  was  born  in  1617.  The  father  had  en- 
larged the  horizon  of  his  life,  by  travel  and  the  study  of 
foreign  languages,  and  the  son  followed  his  example. 
He  was  already  a  good  draftsman,  when  he  moved  to 
Haarlem  to  study  with  the  landscape-painter,  Pieter 
Moljrn.  After  three  years  spent  in  Haarlem,  during 
which  he  experienced  the  influence  of  Frans  Hals,  he 
spent  some  time  in  England  and  later  in  Italy.  Then 
followed  some  five  years  in  Amsterda,m,  where  he  prof- 
ited by  the  example  of  Rembrandt.  In  1646  he  went  to 
Miinster,  in  Westphalia,  being  present  there  during  the 
negotiations  of  the  peace,  mingling  with  the  delegates 
and  painting  portraits,  which  he  afterward  embodied  in 
the  famous  group-picture.  The  Peace  of  Miinster,  now 
in  the  National  Gallery,  to  which  it  was  presented  by 
the  late  Sir  Richard  Wallace.  On  the  completion  of  this 
picture  in  1648  he  visited  Spain  and  made  the  acquain- 
[1273 


THE  STORY  OF  DUTCH  PAINTING 

tance  of  Velasquez  and  his  work.  Returning  to  Hol- 
land, he  spent  four  years  in  ZwoUe,  and  then,  in  1654, 
the  year  in  which  he  married  Gertrude  Matthyssen,  set- 
tled in  Deventer.  Here  he  continued  to  reside  until  his 
death  in  1681. 

All  these  details  of  his  career  are  pertinent,  for  they 
point  not  only  to  the  various  influences,  successively  of 
Hals,  Rembrandt,  and  Velasquez,  under  which  he  came, 
but  also  to  the  scarcely  less  important  fact  that  he  had 
mixed  with  a  variety  of  men  of  parts  and  consequence 
and  become  acquainted  with  various  kinds  of  civiliza- 
tions. His  experiences  enabled  him  to  form  a  very  dis- 
tinguished technique  of  his  own,  and  at  the  same  time 
cultivated  in  him  an  extraordinarily  refined  taste  and  a 
very  high  regard  for  the  dignity  of  human  nature.  In 
technique,  taste,  and  point  of  view  he  became  essentially 
a  true  aristocrat. 

His  portraits  eminently  epitomize  these  qualities. 
Usually  very  small  in  size,  they  suggest  Velasquez  in 
miniature;  exhibiting  the  same  discretion  in  avoiding 
unnecessary  accessories,  the  same  eloquent  use  of  blacks 
and  grays,  occasionally  relieved  with  old  rose  or  blue, 
and,  despite  their  minuteness,  a  corresponding  breadth 
and  distinction  of  fluency  and  simplicity.  All  these 
traits  of  technique  are  the  expression  of  his  attitude 
toward  his  subject,  which  is  essentially  one  of  respect 
for  its  humanity.  This  attitude  is  a  rarer  one  in  por- 
trait-painting than  might  be  expected.  Certainly  in  the 
Dutch  School  one  is  not  impressed  with  its  prevalence. 
There  is  characterization,  good,  bad,  and  indifferent,  and 
the  suggestion  of  the  subject's  position  in  his  or  her  social 

[:i28:] 


OFFICER  WRITING  A  LEITER 

DRESDEN  GALLERY 


GERARD  TERBORCH 


GERARD  TERBORCH 

environment,  but  of  the  reverence  for  humanity  as  such, 
very  Httle.  Indeed,  outside  of  the  portraits  by  Rem- 
brandt, Terborch,  and  occasionally  Maes,  I  question  if 
you  will  often  find  it. 

A  similar  reverence  for  humanity  and  its  environ- 
ment—the product,  I  take  it,  of  the  artist's  high-bred 
respect  for  himself  and  his  art — distinguishes  also  Ter- 
borch's  genre  pictures.  He  began  by  painting  guard- 
room scenes  and  continued  to  be  fond  of  subjects  in 
which  officers  and.  soldiers  figured.  Sometimes  the  cir- 
cumstances are  equivocal,  but  their  salience  is  not  en- 
forced; indeed,  as  Bode  points  out,  the  models  for  the 
ladies  appear  to  have  been  his  sisters,  while  his  brothers 
posed  for  the  military.  The  scene  and  the  occasion  are 
but  an  excuse  for  a  picture.  In  fact,  the  subject  counts 
with  him  for  very  little ;  it  is  the  pretext  that  it  offers  for 
pictorial  representation  in  which  he  is  interested  first 
and  last.  And  to  this  he  brings  an  extraordinary  degree 
of  refined  sensibihty  and  of  virile  and  at  the  same  time 
exquisite  realization. 

The  virility  appears  in  the  drawing  and  construction 
of  his  figures,  to  which  Fromentin  has  paid  so  high  a  trib- 
ute in  his  analysis  of  The  Gallant  Soldier,  in  the  Louyre. 
And,  as  the  French  critic  points  out,  in  discussing  the 
representation  of  the  man's  shoulder  and  arm,  it  is  a 
virility  tempered  with  extreme  sensibility.  It  has  noth- 
ing of  the  improvisation  of  Hals  in  the  following  of  sur- 
faces, but  rather  Velasquez's  mastery  of  plane-construc- 
tion ;  only  here,  in  the  case  of  this  small  figure,  it  is  not 
with  the  open  palm  but  with  most  sensitive  touch  of 
finger-tips  that  we  imagine  ourselves  discovering  the 

[:i293 


THE  STORY  OF  DUTCH  PAINTING 

reality  of  the  form.  Or,  again,  examine  the  wonderful 
example  of  drawing  in  The  Concert  of  the  Berlin  Gal- 
lery, where  the  foreground  is  occupied  by  a  seated  figure 
of  a  lady,  whose  back  is  toward  us,  as  she  plays  the 
violoncello.  Even  more  remarkable  than  the  fine  struc- 
tural reality  of  the  figure  is  its  play  of  expression,  as  it 
bends  over  the  instrument  and  seems  to  be  vibrating  to 
the  touch  of  the  strings.  Again,  what  extraordinary 
realization  of  action,  at  once  broadly  and  subtly  charac- 
terized, appears  in  the  two  figures  of  Officer  Writing  a 
Letter^  in  the  Dresden  Gallery ;  or,  in  the  same  museum, 
in  the  figures  of  the  mistress  and  her  maid  in  Lady 
Washing  Her  Hands;  or  in  the  action  of  the  hands  fol- 
lowed so  absolutely  by  the  gesture  of  the  head  in  the  Old 
Woman  Peeling  Apples  of  the  Art-History  Museum, 
Vienna!  These  are  but  examples,  taken  more  or  less 
at  random,  of  Terborch's  gift  of  drawing,  which  in  its 
mingling  of  virility  and  exquisite  sensibility  is  unsur- 
passed in  Holland  painting. 

Nor  less  admirable  is  the  marvelous  unity  that  he  im- 
parts to  the  whole  scene.  Tonality  has  much  to  do  with 
it,  yet  that  is  but  a  means.  The  cause  is  in  himself,  in 
the  reverence  that  he  has  even  for  the  accessories  in  his 
pictures;  and  the  result  is  a  harmony  that  is  at  once  es- 
thetic and  intellectual.  Mind,  as  well  as  taste,  has 
ordered  everything.  All  the  artists  of  Dutch  genre  had 
more  or  less  the  faculty  of  heightening  the  value  of 
beauty  in  the  accessjories  they  used;  but  none,  not  even 
Vermeer,  to  so  extraordinary  a  pitch  of  artistic  propri- 
ety as  Terborch. 


GERARD  TERBORCH 

His  discretion  in  the  selection  is  so  choice,  and  his  feel- 
ing for  arrangement  at  once  so  big  and  simple  and  so 
concentrated,  that  the  presence  of  his  owti  high-bred 
feeling  pervades  almost  every  interior  he  has  painted 
and  makes  its  privacy  a  thing  of  exquisite  aloofness  and, 
if  I  may  say  so,  of  consecrated  self-possession. 

Equally  distinguished  is  Terborch's  use  of  color.  His 
gamut  of  local  hue  is  larger  than  Vermeer's,  and  his 
treatment  of  values  scarcely  less  subtle ;  while  his  feeling 
for  color  is,  I  believe,  superior.  He  has  the  faculty  of 
raising  a  local  color  to  its  highest  power  of  esthetic  sug- 
gestion; witness  the  lady's  jacket  in  The  Concert  of  the 
BerHn  Gallery,  a  gallery,  by  the  way,  exceptionally  rich 
in  examples  of  this  artist's  work.  To  specify  its  color 
we  may  call  it  salmon,  but  this  only  vaguely  suggests  its 
place  on  the  palette;  the  precise  register  of  its  hue  and, 
still  more,  its  quality  are  indescribable.  Similarly  evasive 
and  yet  profoundly  suggestive  is  his  treatment  of  blue, 
yellow,  red,  black,  and  the  hues  of  gray  from  drab  to 
pearly  white.  These  are  enveloped  in  tonality.  For  in 
this  respect  particularly  Terborch  differs  from  Vermeer. 
The  latter  in  his  most  characteristic  pictures  shows  him- 
self a  student  of  daylight.  But  in  Terborch's  pictures, 
so  far  as  I  recall  them,  there  appears  no  window ;  the  in- 
terior is  dim,  and  the  light  has  no  pretensions  to  being 
natural.  It  is  a  studio  invention,  distributed  or  concen- 
trated to  suit  the  imagined  scheme  of  harmony.  Ver- 
meer is,  in  the  modern  phrase,  a  plein-airist ,  while  Ter- 
borch, true  to  the  traditions  of  the  Dutch  School,  is  a 
tonalist.     It  is  in  the  invention  and  realization  of  his 

irisi] 


THE  STORY  OF  DUTCH  PAINTING 

tonal  scheme  that  he  is  the  superior  of  the  other  genre 
tonaMsts,  and  the  reason  in  the  final  analysis  is  that  to 
taste  and  technique  he  brought  the  refining  discretion  of 
a  superior  quality  of  mind. 


JOHANNES    (jAN)    VERMEER  OF  DELFT 

Johannes  or  Jan  Vermeer^  who  is  also  called  Johannes 
van  der  Meer  of  Delft,  was  born  at  Delft  in  1632.  His 
life  was  spent  continuously  in  this  city  until  his  death 
in  1675.  There  are  records  to  show  that  he  studied 
with  one  of  Rembrandt's  pupils,  Carel  Fabritius,  and 
that  he  was  not  only  a  high  official  in  the  local  Guild 
of  St.  Luke,  but  highly  esteemed  in  his  community. 
After  his  death,  however,  his  very  existence  as  a  painter 
of  the  Dutch  School  was  forgotten,  and  his  pictures, 
very  few  of  which  bear  signatures,  were  attributed  to  a 
Vermeer  of  Haarlem  and  to  another  painter  of  the  same 
name  in  Utrecht,  and  to  De  Hooch  and  others.  The 
reason  for  this  seems  to  have  been  the  unaccountable 
omission  of  the  artist's  name  in  Houbraken's  book  of 
Dutch  painters.  Anyhow,  the  silence  of  more  than  a 
century  and  a  half  was  not  broken,  until  the  French  con- 
noisseur Thore,  who  wrote  under  the  nom  de  plume  of 
*'W.  Biirger,"  attracted  by  the  beauty  of  some  of  the 
signed  pictures,  set  on  foot  an  investigation  which  re- 
sulted in  the  rehabilitation  of  Vermeer.  Since  then  criti- 
cism has  disproved  some  of  Burger's  ascriptions,  but  in- 
cluded other  pictures,  until  now  there  are  thirty  assigned 
with  certainty  to  Vermeer's  brush.  A  few  others,  shown 
[1323 


5IRL  AT  THE  WINDOW  JOHANNES  (JAN)  VERMEER 

METROPOLITAN  MUSEUM,  NEW  YORK 


JAN  VERMEER 

by  the  records  to  have  existed,  are  as  yet  unidentified; 
but  it  is  assumed  that  the  total  output  of  his  twenty  years 
of  activity  did  not  much  exceed  the  number  already  dis- 
covered. It  falls  far  short  of  the  productivity  of  most  of 
the  Dutch  painters— a  fact  which  has  been  explained  by 
the  sci-upulous  care  with  which  Vermeer  painted,  and  the 
degree  of  perfection  to  which  he  wrought  each  canvas. 

The  appreciation  of  Vermeer's  art  has  increased  rap- 
idly during  the  last  twenty-five  years,  until  to-day  he  is 
generally  ranked  as  the  finest  of  the  artists  of  genre,  and, 
as  a  painter,  without  rival  in  the  Dutch  School,  while 
some  are  disposed  to  consider  him  the  most  accomplished 
painter  in  the  history  of  art.  These  extreme  admirers 
are,  as  a  rule,  painters,  who  find  in  Vermeer's  technique 
and  point  of  view  precisely  what  they  value  most  highly 
in  painting.  For  this  artist  is  a  modern  among  moderns. 
He  is  not  so  in  the  sense  that  Rembrandt's  influence  is 
now  being  felt.  The  latter  is  indirect  in  its  suggestion  of 
a  conception  of  beauty  other  than  the  classical,  and  in  its 
equally  indirect  suggestion  of  the  expressional  value  of 
light  and  of  the  symbolic  use  of  form  and  color.  Rem- 
brandt's appeal  is  rather  to  the  mind;  Vermeer's  to  the 
eye.  He  saw  the  world  as  the  modern  painter  sees  it, 
enveloped  in  natural  light,  and  rendered  it,  as  the  modern 
painter  tries  to  render  it,  by  a  close  discrimination  of 
delicately  different  values.  To  produce  a  harmony  he 
did  not  introduce  an  arbitrary  tonality,  but,  following 
nature's  plan,  drew  all  the  local  colors  into  a  balanced 
relation  by  the  unifying  effects  of  diffused  light.  In  this 
respect  Vermeer  was  unique  in  the  Dutch  School,  and  it 
is  because  the  artist  of  to-day,  if  he  is  alive  to  the  modern 
D333 


THE  STORY  OF  DUTCH  PAINTING 

spirit,  works  with  the  same  motive  and  in  the  same  way, 
that  he  prizes  Vermeer  so  highly.  If,  as  one  enthusiast 
remarked  to  me,  "the  whole  art  of  painting  consists  in 
the  right  relation  of  values,  and  there  can  be  no  doubt 
that  it  does,  then  Vermeer  is  the  greatest  painter  that 
ever  lived." 

The  value  of  the  criticism,  of  course,  depends  upon  the 
acceptance  of  the  major  premise,  respecting  which  this 
individual  had  no  doubt.  On  the  other  hand,  one  may 
beg  to  doubt  it,  without  depreciating  Vermeer.  For  it 
comes  dangerously  near  the  position  that  the  whole  art 
of  painting  consists  in  its  technique ;  it  is  an  echo,  in  fact, 
of  that  old  shibboleth  of  our  youth,  "art  for  art's  sake." 
It  lays  undue  stress  on  the  purely  sensuous  appeal  of 
painting,  upon  the  "mint  and  cummin,"  and  neglects  the 
"weightier  matter"  of  possible  appeal  to  the  higher  fac- 
ulties of  the  imagination.  INIoreover,  it  overlooks  the 
fact  that  the  method  which  Vermeer  brought  to  such 
perfection,  and  which  because  of  its  perfection  is  so 
justly  admired,  is  essentially  one  for  small  canvases. 
And  it  was  not  until  Vermeer  settled  down  to  these  that 
he  developed  his  characteristic  style. 

The  earliest  of  his  dated  pictures  is  The  Proposal,  in 
the  Dresden  Gallery,  which  belongs  to  the  year  1656. 
The  figures  are  of  life  size,  and  the  treatment  is  propor- 
tionately broad,  almost  "rough"  as  Bode  says,  who  adds: 
"It  does  not  yet  show  us  Vermeer  in  his  developed  indi- 
viduality." Yet  some  elements  of  the  latter  are  already 
established :  the  superb  plasticity  in  the  modeling  of  the 
forms  and  the  frank  enjoyment  in  local  colors,  the  lemon 
yellow  of  the  girl's  jacket  forming  a  splendid  spot 
[134] 


HEAD  OF  A  GIRL 


JOHANNES  (JAN)  VERMEER 

HAGUE  GALLERY 


JAN  VERMEER 

against  the  equally  brilliant  scarlet  of  the  young  man's 
coat.  Again,  a  minor  point,  an  Oriental  rug  of  crimson 
and  yellow  and  blue  design  appears  here  as  in  later  pic- 
tures, such  as  the  Girl  with  Water-Jug  of  the  Metro- 
politan Museum.  But  the  Dresden  masterpiece  of  the 
artist^ youth — he  was  only  twenty-four — differs  from 
his  later  work  not  only  in  the  size  of  the  figures  and 
breadth  of  brush  work,  but  also  in  the  treatment  of  the 
chiaroscuro.  The  scene  is  not  illumined  with  diffused 
light,  but  with  a  stroke  of  light  which  gives  brilliance  to 
the  two  principal  figures  and  leaves  the  subordinate  ones 
in  shadow.  It  is  an  arrangement,  suggestive  of  the  ex- 
ample of  Rembrandt,  and  hints  at  the  fact  that  the  pic- 
ture was  produced  while  Vermeer  was  still  close  to  the 
influence  of  his  teacher.  Car  el  Fabritius. 

Another  early  example,  betraying  the  same  influence, 
is  Diana  at  Her  Toilet  of  the  Hague  Gallery,  which  in 
the  1905  edition  of  the  Catalogue  is  still  assigned  to  Ver- 
meer of  Utrecht,  though  later  criticism  accepts  it  as  by 
the  artist  of  Delft.  Closely  following  in  subject  a  Diana 
and  Her  Nymphs,  painted  by  Jacob  van  Loo  in  1648, 
which  is  now  in  the  Berlin  Gallery,  this  picture  is  in  the 
freer,  looser  method  of  The  Proposal,  and  even  repeats 
the  same  colors  of  red  and  yellow,  though  subtilized  here 
to  a  delicate  rose  and  a  kind  of  snuff  color.  The  light  is 
still  partially  distributed  so  as  to  dapple  the  figures,  and 
these  are  painted  with  a  flickering  brushstroke  that  helps 
to  increase  the  fluttering  effect  of  the  light. 

Two  other  examples  have  been  acquired  in  recent 
years  by  the  Hague  Gallery :  an  allegorical  picture.  The 
New  Testament,  and  Head  of  a  Girl.  In  both  are  intro- 
1:1353 


THE  STORY  OF  DUTCH  PAINTING 

duced  the  cool  blue  and  white  that  characterize  many  of 
Vermeer's  later  pictures.  The  subject  of  the  former, 
which  is  owned  by  Dr.  Bredius  of  The  Hague,  is  curi- 
ously affected,  representing  a  lady  in  blue  and  white  silk 
costume,  resting  her  foot  on  a  globe,  as  she  sits  beside  a 
table  on  which  are  a  crucifix,  chalice,  and  book.  On  the 
wall  behind  her  hangs  a  large  picture  of  Christ  upon  the 
cross,  attended  by  JNIary  and  John ;  and  on  the  left  of  it 
is  a  superb  tapestry  of  orange,  blue,  and  mellow  green, 
while  a  crystal  ball  is  suspended  from  the  ceiling.  In 
contrast  with  the  glowing  warmth  of  the  curtain  and  the 
shadowed  warmth  of  the  picture  on  the  wall,  the  lady's 
figure  presents  a  cool,  white-lighted  spot.  The  plastic 
feeling  is  strongly  pronounced,  the  brushwork  wonder- 
fully limpid  and  firm,  and  the  tonality  extraordinarily 
fine.  For  the  picture  is  still  a  study  of  tone,  in  which  it 
differs  from  the  Head  of  a  Girl.  For  the  latter  is  repre- 
sented in  a  clearly  diffused  light,  which  is  brightest 
around  the  head,  and  illumines  in  a  subtle  way  the  tender 
flesh-tints  of  the  face,  the  bluish-white  linen  head-dress, 
and  the  bright  full  blue  of  a  portion  of  the  gown.  The 
face  wears  a  charming  expression  of  concentration.  This 
picture,  indeed,  very  decidedly  forecasts  Vermeer's  de- 
veloped individuality,  yet  Bode  places  it  among  his 
earlier  pieces,  about  1656.  To  this  period  also  probably 
belongs  the  beautiful  Sleeping  Girl,  recently  acquired 
from  the  Rudolph  Kann  Collection  by  Mr.  B.  Altman. 

To  a  somewhat  later  date  following  close  on  1656 
Bode  assigns  the  View  of  Delft,  one  of  the  greatest  trea- 
sures of  the  Hague  Gallery.     There  is  a  record  of  its 
sale  in  1696,  together  with  two  other  landscapes,  one  of 
[:i363 


JAN  VERMEER 

which  has  disappeared,  while  the  other  is  in  the  Six  Col- 
lection in  Amsterdam.  The  Hague  picture  is  an  unusual 
example  of  the  artist,  not  only  because  it  is  a  landscape, 
but  also  because  of  the  warm  light  that  pervades  it.  From 
a  triangle  of  rosy  yellowish  foreground  one  looks  across 
the  quiet  sheet  of  grayish-blue  water  to  the  line  of  houses 
of  reddish-drab  and  brown  bricks,  and  red  and  blue  and 
yellow  roofs,  above  which  shows  a  high  expanse  of  sky. 
The  coloring,  which  again,  it  is  to  be  observed,  includes 
red  and  yellow,  is  brilliantly  variegated,  yet  held  in  con- 
trol by  the  stretches  of  sky  and  water.  The  ensemble  is 
superbly  artistic,  while  as  a  presentation  of  a  late  after- 
noon scene  it  could  not  be  surpassed  in  naturalness.  The 
picture,  in  fact,  stands  out  among  all  the  landscapes  of 
the  seventeenth  century  as  being  extraordinarily  modern 
in  feeling  and  manner,  and  its  influence  has  been  very 
great  in  the  modern  development  of  landscape-painting 
in  Holland. 

Another  picture  of  the  period  immediately  following 
1656  is  The  Cook,  in  the  Rijks  Museum.  She  is  stand- 
ing in  front  of  a  whitish  wall,  lighted  from  a  window  on 
the  left,  pouring  milk  into  a  red  earthenware  pitcher 
that  stands  upon  the  table.  The  latter  hides  the  lower 
part  of  her  figure,  which  is  clad  in  a  lemon-colored  body, 
reddish-brown  skirt,  and  deep-blue  apron,  while  a  white 
cap  covers  her  head.  Here  in  these  details — cap  against 
light  wall,  prominent  note  of  blue,  the  three-quarter 
length  of  figure,  the  cool  lighting  from  a  window  on  the 
left,  lastly,  the  plasticity  of  the  form — we  find  the  in- 
gredients of  Vermeer's  later  manner;  but  as  yet  the 
brushwork  has  not  the  limpid  exquisiteness,  compressed 

cist;] 


THE  STORY  OF  DUTCH  PAINTING 

yet  fluent,  of  his  full  development.  On  the  contrary,  it 
is  broad,  inclined  to  roughness,  loose  and  free,  magnifi- 
cent in  the  gusto  with  which  it  has  been  applied,  and 
vigorously  stimulating  in  its  appeal  to  sense  imagina- 
tion. 

Also  in  the  Rijks  Museum  is  a  picture  which  recalls 
the  fact  that  De  Hooch  was  a  member  of  the  Guild  of 
St.  Luke  in  Delft  from  1655  to  1657,  and  that,  while  he 
benefited  most  by  contact  with  Vermeer,  the  latter  was 
also  somewhat  influenced  by  him.  For  in  this  picture. 
The  Letter,  Vermeer  seems  to  have  experimented,  not 
over-successfully,  with  De  Hooch's  device  of  showing 
one  room  beyond  another.  For  an  anteroom  opens  into 
two  others,  side  by  side,  in  one  of  which  on  the  black 
and  white  marble  floor  a  lady  is  seated  in  an  amber  dress 
trimmed  with  ermine.  She  pauses  in  her  playing  of  a 
lute  to  take  a  letter  from  a  servant.  The  picture  is  ex- 
ceedingly choice  in  color  and  technique,  but  the  compo- 
sition is  a  little  awkward  in  its  division  into  two  parts — 
a  device,  by  the  way,  that  recalls  De  Hooch's  The  Visit, 
owned  by  Mrs.  Henry  O.  Havemeyer,  the  composition 
of  which  is  open  to  a  similar  criticism. 

Again,  in  the  Rijks  Museum  is  Young  Woman  Read- 
ing a  Letter.  Here  in  the  delicate  modeling  of  the  face 
one  observes  the  exquisite  gray  tones  that  distinguish  so 
many  of  the  examples  of  Vermeer's  fully  developed 
style.  Also  notable  is  the  arrangement  of  the  composi- 
tion, the  girl  facing  left,  her  feet  hidden  by  a  chair  and 
table,  the  latter  forming  a  dark  spot  so  as  to  increase  the 
luminosity  on  the  figure  and  the  wall.  It  is  repeated 
very  closely  in  The  Lady  with  a  Pearl  Necklace  of  the 
Berlin  Gallery,  where  chair  and  table  occupy  the  same 
ClSS] 


IIBP??^ 

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HE  COOK  JOHANNES  (JAN)  VEllMEER 

SIX  COLLECTION  NOW  IN  RIJKS  MUSEUM,  AMSTERDAM 


JAN  VERMEER 

position,  and  the  girl  stands  between  them  with  her 
hands  similarly  raised,  only  as  she  holds  the  necklace  she 
looks  up,  instead  of  down  to  the  table  as  in  the  other  pic- 
ture. She  wears  a  canary-colored  jacket  edged  with 
ermine,  that  appears  again  in  Mrs.  Collis  P.  Hunting- 
ton's Lady  with  Lute.  In  the  Berlin  picture  it  sounds  a 
note  of  liveliness  that  is  exquisitely  sustained  in  the  sil- 
very resonance  of  the  lighted  room;  the  effect  of  which  is 
induced  by  the  tones  of  olive  in  her  skirt  and  the  table- 
cloth, by  a  deep  almost  colorless  blue  drapery  over  the 
latter,  and  a  shaft  of  dull  yellow,  formed  by  the  velour 
of  the  window-curtain.  The  ensemble,  in  fact,  is  one  of 
piquant  decision  and  indescribable  delicacy,  illustrating 
Vermeer's  faculty  of  sight  imagination,  so  that  he  not 
only  renders  what  he  sees,  but  actually  creates. 

Between  INIr.  J.  Pierpont  ^I organ's  Lady  Writing 
and  The  Lace-Maker  of  the  Louvre  there  is  a  remark- 
able companionship  of  arrangement  and  feeling.  In 
each  case  the  figure  is  seated,  bending  over  a  table;  the 
jacket  is  canary-colored,  and  blue  is  introduced  in  the 
table-cloth  of  the  former  picture  and  in  a  cushion  in  the 
other,  while  in  both  the  sensitive  expression  of  the  head 
and  hands  is  echoed  in  the  delicate  precision  of  the  ob- 
jects on  the  table.  In  both  cases  the  luminosity  of  the 
scene  is  enhanced  by  a  shadowed  mass  on  the  left  of  the 
foreground.  Mr.  IMorgan's  picture  in  loveliness  of  color, 
exquisiteness  of  handling,  and  inexpressibly  subtle  feel- 
ing rivals  its  sister  piece  of  the  Lou\Te. 

It  is  in  this  element  of  feeling  alone  that  these  two  pic- 
tures possibly  excel  the  Girl  with  Water-Jug  of  the 
^letropolitan  Museum.  For  the  latter's  beauty  of  color, 
with  its  deep  bell-like  note  of  blue  and  the  resonance  of 

i:i39] 


THE  STORY  OF  DUTCH  PAINTING 

blue,  more  or  less  faintly  hovering  over  the  cap  and 
kerchief  and  permeating  the  atmosphere,  is  misur pass- 
able. Perfect  also  is  the  handling  of  this  picture,  both  as 
to  its  suggestion  of  the  plastic  reality  of  everything  rep- 
resented and  its  consummate  delicacy  of  manipulation; 
while  in  one  particular  it  surpasses  both  the  others  and  is 
in  Vermeer's  finest  possible  manner.  This  is  the  extraor- 
dinary propriety  with  which  each  detail  of  the  composi- 
tion is  introduced.  Everything  has  been  selected  and 
placed  with  the  choicest  discretion;  nothing  is  confused 
or  unexplained,  everything  is  a  triumph  of  incomparable 
simplicity  and  exquisite  adjustment.  Only,  I  repeat,  in 
feeling ;  in  the  expression  of  the  head,  arms,  and  hands  is 
there  lacking  something  of  the  exquisite  finesse  of  the 
above  two  pictures  and  of  certain  other  examples. 

Occasionally,  as  in  The  Coquette  of  the  Brunswick 
Gallery,  A  Lady  at  a  Spinet,  in  the  National  Gallery, 
and  The  Music  Lesson,  owned  by  Mr.  Henry  C.  Frick, 
the  figures  display  a  consciousness  of  themselves  or  of 
the  onlooker;  their  personality  looks  out  from  its  own 
surroundings.  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  rather  a  charac- 
teristic of  Vermeer  as  of  Terborch,  that  the  people  in  his 
pictures  seem  immersed  in  themselves.  The  scene  is 
wrapped  in  privacy,  undisturbed  by  the  suggestion  of  an 
outsider.  But  the  most  signal  instance  of  a  scene, 
actually  arranged,  and  posed  as  if  to  be  viewed  by 
others,  is  the  example  of  The  Artist  in  His  Studio,  in 
the  Czernin  Gallery,  Vienna.  In  color  and  mingled 
breadth  and  delicacy  of  treatment  it  is  superb;  but  in 
place  of  the  artist's  usual  sincerity  of  feeling,  it  is  pos- 
sible to  detect  a  suspicion  of  affectation. 
D40] 


I 


THE  ARTIST  IN  HIS  STUDIO  JOHANNES  (JAN)  VERMEER 

CZERNIN  GALLERY,  VIENNA 


JAN  STEEN 

A  signal  example  of  Vermeer's  sincerity  and,  inas- 
much as  it  is  a  portrait,  unique,  hangs  in  the  Museum  of 
Fine  Arts  in  Budapest.  It  is  the  Portrait  of  a  Lady. 
She  is  heavy-featured  and  of  homely  type,  rather  resem- 
bling the  woman  in  the  Rijks  INIuseum  picture.  The 
Cook.  A  white  cap  tightly  grasps  her  head;  a  broad 
white  collar,  fastened  with  a  tuft  of  gold  braid,  falls 
over  her  black  dress,  the  cuffs  of  which  are  of  white  lawn. 
She  folds  her  hands  at  the  waist,  one  of  them  in  a  cream 
kid  glove,  trimmed  with  gold  braid,  the  other  suspending 
its  fellow,  while  she  holds  a  black  fan.  The  face  is  re- 
lieved on  one  side  by  greenish-black  transparent  shadows 
and  wears  an  expression  of  dull  self-oblivion  that  is  al- 
most poignant  and  gives  to  the  portrait  a  grave  dis- 
tinction. 

In  conclusion,  it  is  worthy  of  note  that  Vermeer's 
painting-career  of  scarcely  more  than  twenty  years 
passed  from  its  experimental  stage  to  a  full  develop- 
ment from  which  there  was  no  decline.  He  did  not 
toward  the  finish  lapse  from  his  finest  ideals,  like  Maes 
and  De  Hooch,  nor  mingle  pot-boilers  with  masterpieces 
in  the  manner  of  Jan  Steen.  He  maintained  consis- 
tently the  artistic  integrity  of  a  scrupulously  exacting 
conscience. 

JAN  STEEN 

Jan  Steen  was  the  chameleon  of  Dutch  painting.  Be- 
sides genre  he  essayed  portraiture  and  Biblical  subjects; 
alternated  between  small  and  large  canvases ;  at  one  time 
suggests  a  recollection  of  some  other  artist,  by  turns  Van 
Ostade,  Terborch,  ^laes,  Metsu,  Van  Mieris,  or  even 

cm] 


THE  STORY  OF  DUTCH  PAINTING 

Vermeer;  at  other  times  is  incomparably  himself,  and 
still  again  not  infrequently  falls  below  his  own  standard. 
He  has  left  more  examples  than  any  other  genre  artist; 
for  dozens  mentioned  in  old  catalogues  have  disappeared, 
yet  still  some  five  hundred  survive.  He  is  numerously 
represented  in  public  and  private  collections,  yet  in  so 
many  styles  and  varieties  of  quality  that  his  artistic  per- 
sonality is  apt  to  seem  evasive,  while  the  impression  he 
arouses  is  by  turns  one  of  enthusiasm,  indifference,  and 
resentment. 

By  degrees,  however,  his  personality  emerges,  as  one 
becomes  conscious  of  a  trait  that  is  shared  by  all  his  pic- 
tures. It  is  their  liveliness  of  characterization,  exhibited 
not  only  in  the  individual  figures,  but  also  in  the  inven- 
tiveness of  grouping  and  in  the  peculiar  vivacity  with 
which  the  spirit  of  the  scene  has  been  rendered.  He  is  of 
all  the  genre  artists  the  supreme  delineator  of  Dutch  life 
among  the  lower  middle  classes  in  the  Leyden  and  Haar- 
lem of  his  day;  depicting  it,  by  turns,  with  something  of 
the  large-heartedness  of  a  Shakspere,  the  wit  and  satire 
of  a  Moliere,  and  the  coarseness  of  a  Rabelais.  But  in 
every  vein,  whether  of  broad  survey  or  trenchant  scru- 
tiny, he  is  human ;  for  the  most  part  genial  in  his  outlook, 
and  always  fresh  in  observation.  It  is  probably  because 
of  this  that  Waagen  characterizes  him  as  "next  to  Rem- 
brandt certainly  the  greatest  genius  among  the  painters 
of  the  Dutch  School,"  an  opinion  which  is  shared  by  W. 
Biirger  (Thore),  while  Dr.  Bredius  styles  him  "the 
greatest  genre  painter  of  the  seventeenth  century,  one  of 
the  wittiest  delineators  of  human  folly,  the  character 
painter  par  excellence" 


JAN  STEEN 

The  standard,  in  fact,  by  which  these  and  other  ad- 
mirers test  him,  and  which  must  be  apphed  by  every  one 
who  would  reach  a  just  estimate  of  this  many-sided  ar- 
tist, is  bigger  than  that  of  technique.  Steen  drew  well, 
but  could  be  slipshod  and  incorrect  in  drawing;  exhib- 
ited an  extraordinary  gift  of  improvised  and  occasion- 
ally studied  composition,  yet  could  huddle  his  canvases 
with  a  superabundance  of  material ;  in  one  picture  would 
display  a  fine  sense  of  color,  to  lose  it  in  another;  now 
would  work  with  a  juicy  and  limpid  brushstroke,  now  in 
a  thin  method  as  dry  as  brick-dust,  and  could  be  indif- 
ferent to  tonality,  while  at  other  times  a  tonalist  of  choice 
distinction.  Therefore  you  cannot  measure  him  as  j^ou 
d'o  a  Terborch  or  a  Vermeer,  or,  indeed,  range  him  for 
comparison  alongside  of  any  of  the  other  genre  artists. 
With  them,  at  their  best,  the  pictorial  representation  is 
the  chief  concern,  and  they  invite  you  to  judge  them  by 
their  technique.  But  it  is  otherwise  with  Steen.  You 
cannot  hold  him  to  so  narrow  a  test,  any  more  than  you 
can  Shakspere.  Both  are  technicians  who  at  times  throw 
technique  to  the  winds.  You  may  regret  it  or  resent  it ; 
but,  to  be  just,  must  condone  the  fact  in  face  of  the 
bigness  that  looms  behind. 

The  jovial  humanity  of  Steen  and  the  joy  that  he  took 
in  humorous  characterization  were  responsible  for  the  de- 
ficiencies he  often  exhibited  as  a  painter.  He  would  fre- 
quently be  more  interested  in  the  subject  than  in  the 
technicalities  of  an  artistic  problem;  which,  as  we  have 
seen,  is  precisely  the  reverse  of  the  attitude  that  most  of 
the  great  genre  painters  came  to  adopt.  They  were  con- 
cerned primarily  with  the  making  of  a  picture ;  Steen  was 

1:1433 


THE  STORY  OF  DUTCH  PAINTING 

quite  frequently  engrossed  with  the  dehneation  of  a  phase 
of  life.  He  was  so  interested  in  the  story-telling  ele- 
ment of  the  subject  that  under  some  circumstances  he 
permitted  himself  to  supersede  the  pictorial  quality  of 
the  presentation.  This  should  be  frankly  recognized  in 
approaching  the  studj^  of  Jan  Steen,  otherwise  by  com- 
ing upon  one  or  two  of  his  inferior  examples  we  may  be 
led  into  a  hasty  depreciation  of  this  great  artist. 

He  belonged  to  an  old  respected  family  of  Leyden, 
where  he  was  born  about  1626,  his  father  being  a  brewer 
in  prosperous  circumstances.  The  son's  name  is  in- 
scribed in  the  records  of  the  University  of  .Leyden,  as 
having  been  one  of  its  students  in  1646;  then  we  hear  of 
him  as  a  pupil  of  Nicolaes  Knupfer,  the  painter  of  genre 
and  of  Biblical  and  mythological  subjects.  Afterward 
Steen  studied  with  Jan  van  Goyen,  whose  daughter 
Margaret  he  married.  He  was  one  of  the  first  members 
of  the  local  Guild  of  St.  Luke,  estabhshed  in  1648.  From 
1649  to  1654  he  lived  at  The  Hague;  then  returned  to 
Leyden  for  seven  years,  during  which  time  he  owned  a 
brewery  near  Delft.  From  1661  to  1669  he  resided  at 
Haarlem,  but  in  the  last  year  lost  his  wife  and  returned 
to  Leyden,  where  he  remained  until  his  death  in  1679. 
In  1672  he  had  obtained  permission  from  the  magistrate 
of  Leyden  to  maintain  a  cafe  at  his  house,  and  the  fol- 
lowing year  took  a  second  wife,  Maria  van  Egmont,  the 
M'idow  of  a  local  bookseller.  Houbraken  states  that  they 
lived  happily  together,  though  their  larder  was  often  ill- 
stocked;  but  he  is  not  so  charitable  toward  Steen's  con- 
nection ^\ath  the  liquor  trade.  This  fact,  coupled  with 
the  jovial  character  of  the  artist's  pictures  and  enlivened 


JAN  STEEN 

by  hearsay  information  from  a  painter,  Carel  de  Moor, 
led  this  story-monger  into  much  tittle-tattle  about  the 
artist's  reckless  habits.  To-day,  by  the  best  authorities, 
this  view  of  Steen  is  discredited.  It  is,  however,  quite 
clear  that  he  was  often  in  desperate  states ;  for  example, 
in  the  February  after  his  first  wife's  death  an  apothe- 
cary seized  his  goods  and  sold  his  pictures  to  satisfy  a 
debt  of  ten  florins !  But  the  reason  was  not  idleness,  for 
he  was  the  most  prolific  painter  of  his  day;  it  is  to  be 
found  in  the  miserable  price  for  which  he  had  to  sell  his 
work.  No  wonder  he  tried  to  eke  out  his  finances  by 
keeping  a  brewery,  which,  by  the  way,  was  a  privilege 
specially  granted  at  that  time  only  to  a  few  families  of 
particular  respectability.  As  to  the  cafe,  since  he  had  to 
turn  to  trade,  he  naturally  adopted  the  one  with  which 
his  family  had  been  connected ;  the  disgrace,  if  there  were 
any,  not  being  his,  but  the  public's,  who  paid  him  better 
for  drinks  than  for  his  pictures. 

So  far  as  the  dates  on  his  pictures  show,  his  period  of 
production  lasted  for  twenty-five  years,  from  1653  to 
1678,  so  that  his  output  averaged  more  than  twenty  pic- 
tures a  year.  Thebest  period  may  probably  be  reckoned 
during  the  years  from  1654  to  1669,  which  covered  his 
second  sojourn  in  Leyden  and  his  visit  to  Haarlem.  His 
family  was  growing  up  around  him,  and  the  children 
from  year  to  year  figure  in  his  pictures,  and  his  hand- 
some wife,  INIargaret,  appears  as  a  center  of  kindliness 
and  comfort,  while  his  own  person  often  adds  the  note 
of  jolhty.  To  these  pleasant  times  belong  the  incompa- 
rable "family  scenes"— .4  Homely  Scene,  The  Feast  of 
St.  Nicholas,  and  The  Happy  Family  of  the  Rijks  Mu- 
[145] 


THE  STORY  OF  DUTCH  PAINTING 

seiim;  The  Christening  Party  of  the  Berlin  Gallery; 
While  the  Old  Ones  Sing  the  Young  Ones  Pipe  of  the 
Hague  Gallery;  and  the  Cassel  Gallery's  Twelfth 
Night,  where  JNIargaret  appears  for  the  last  time,  since 
the  picture  was  painted  in  the  year  of  her  death. 

These  and  other  group-pictures,  such  as  The  Prince's 
Birthday  of  the  Rijks  INIuseum,  are  works  of  genius, 
unique  in  painting.  For  they  are  not  constructed  ac- 
cording to  the  methods  of  the  schools,  but  are  the  prod- 
ucts of  a  natural  gift  of  seeing  and  rendering  naturally 
a  glimpse  of  busy  life.  Yet  with  a  tact  that  avoids  con- 
fusion ;  places  ever5'"thing  in  its  own  plane  of  space  with 
admirable  precision  and  propriety ;  leaves  no  intervals  of 
uncertainty  or  obscurity;  but  secures  to  the  whole  an 
artistic  reasonableness  and  completeness;  and  all  this 
with  an  art  that  conceals  art,  and  makes  the  scene  appear 
to  be  one  of  complete  naturalness.  No  other  artist  has 
ever  reconciled  nature  and  art  quite  so  happily;  and 
when  one  passes  from  the  technical  appreciation  to  a 
study  of  the  varieties  of  character,  depicted  in  the  per- 
sonages of  all  ages  from  the  baby  to  the  grandparents, 
and  notes  the  mingling  of  humor  and  tenderness  in  the 
sentiment  and  the  embracing  large-heartedness  that  has 
inspired  the  whole,  it  is  to  marvel  at  and  rejoice  in  the 
uniqueness  of  Steen's  genius. 

Then,  by  way  of  contrast,  mark  his  treatment  of  a 
subject  in  which  only  a  few  persons  figure.  To  myself 
his  series  of  medical  visits  presents  perhaps  the  most 
charming  example  of  this  concentrated  phase  of  his  art. 
Witness  The  Sick  Lady  of  the  Rijks  Museum,  where 
the  young  woman  sits  with  her  head  supported  by  a  pil- 
[1*6] 


JAN  STEEN 

low,  its  whiteness  against  the  pallor  of  her  face,  while  the 
doctor  stands  counting  her  pulse.  It  is  a  masterpiece  of 
tender  characterization,  for  here  the  physician  also  is 
gentle  and  solicitous.  However,  he  is  not  so  in  A  Doctor 
Visiting  a  Sick  Young  Woman  (No.  166)  of  the  Hague 
Gallery.  There  he  is  boorish  in  appearance  and  sug- 
gests ignorance;  in  rough  contrast  to  the  pathetically 
fragile  little  lady,  lying  in  bed  and  so  ruefully  gazing  at 
the  medicine-glass  in  the  maid's  hand.  The  picture  is 
not  dated,  but  I  wonder  if  it  was  painted  after  the 
artist's  rude  experience  with  the  apothecary  who  sold 
him  up  for  ten  florins !  Again,  in  The  Doctor's  Visit  of 
the  National  Gallery,  the  man  presents  a  different  trait 
of  behavior.  It  is  not  tenderness  toward  a  delicate 
young  thing  as  in  the  Amsterdam  picture,  but  respectful 
solicitude  toward  an  older  woman,  who,  by  the  way,  re- 
minds one  of  Steen's  wife,  Margaret.  She  is  dressed  in  a 
jacket  of  old  rose,  edged  with  fur,  and  a  silvery-blue 
skirt,  while  the  doctor  wears  a  suit  of  black  with  olive 
velvet  sleeves.  In  the  Amsterdam  picture  his  black  cos- 
tume is  relieved  by  a  silk  cloak  of  ashy  brown,  while  the 
young  woman  is  in  pearly-gray  satin,  trimmed  with 
white  fur,  a  peep  of  blue  slipper  appearing  from  beneath 
the  skirt.  In  fact,  the  color  of  these  pictures  is  exceed- 
ingly choice;  differing  from  the  richness  and  liveliness 
of  the  family  groups;  corresponding  in  its  subtle  deli- 
cacy to  the  delicate  pointedness  of  the  characterization 
that  is  not  without  a  certain  dry  flavor  of  wit. 

It  is  between  these  two  extremes  of  generous  freedom 
and  highly  wrought  restraint  that  the  pendulum  of 
Steen's  art  swings,  with  such  wealth  of  variety  that  it  is 


THE  STORY  OF  DUTCH  PAINTING 

impossible  to  specialize  further.  However,  a  word  or 
two  must  be  said  in  conclusion  about  his  treatment  of 
Biblical  subjects,  of  which  The  Marriage  at  Cana  and 
The  Expulsion  of  Hagar,  both  in  the  Dresden  Gallery, 
may  be  cited  as  typical  examples. 

Steen's  treatment  of  Biblical,  as  of  occasional  mjrtho- 
logical,  subjects  was  purely  in  the  vein  of  genre;  not, 
however,  with  any  resort  to  emotional  or  dramatic  ap- 
peal, as  in  the  case  of  Rembrandt.  In  translating  the 
old  scene  into  the  vernacular  of  Dutch  middle-class  or 
low-class  life,  Steen  preserves  nothing  of  its  religious 
significance,  or  even  of  its  epic  dignity.  The  theme  with 
him  becomes  simply  a  vehicle  for  characterization  and 
possible  humor.  Thus,  in  The  Marriage  at  Cana,  Christ 
is  standing  at  the  table  in  the  act  of  blessing  a  Dutch 
wedding-party,  but  all  this  is  in  the  background.  The 
salient  features  of  the  scene  are  occurring  in  the  fore- 
ground, where  a  fat  cellarer  hands  a  glass  of  wine  to  a 
fiddler,  and  a  slattern  woman  leans  against  a  cask,  giv- 
ing a  drink  to  a  boy.  In  The  Expulsion  of  Hagar, 
Sarah  sits  inside  the  door,  "examining"  the  little  Isaac's 
head;  Hagar  weeps  as  Abraham  sadly  dismisses  her: 
while  Ishmael  strings  his  bow,  two  spaniels  are  catching 
fieas,  and  sheep,  cows,  and  poultry  are  scattered  through 
the  yard.  ^leanwhile,  though  the  pictures  make  no  ap- 
peal to  the  spiritual  imagination,  the  sensuous  imagina- 
tion may  be  stimulated  by  the  choiceness  of  their  charm 
of  color.  Perhaps,  however,  if  one  wishes  to  epitomize 
Steen's  attitude  toward  the  subjects  he  took  from  the 
Bible  and  the  classics,  one  may  best  compare  his  render- 
ing of  The  Disciples  at  Emmaus  (Rijks  Museum)  with 
[148] 


JAN  STEEN 

Rembrandt's  treatment  of  the  same  subject  in  the 
Louvre.  Instead  of  Christ  being  the  pathetic  center  of 
divine  illumination,  as  in  the  latter  picture,  Steen  has 
placed  Him  in  the  shadow  of  the  background,  leaving  the 
room,  while  the  disciples,  attended  by  a. serving- woman, 
are  gazing  disconsolately  at  the  table,  which  is  garnished 
with— of  all  imaginably  incongruous  things— a  lemon. 


1:149: 


CHAPTER  IX 

BIBLICAL  SUBJECTS  AND  PORTRAITURE 

TO  the  Dutch  method  of  treating  Biblical  subjects 
we  have  already  alluded  in  the  case  of  Rem- 
brandt and  Jan  Steen.  It  shows  in  common  the 
motive  of  translating  the  story  into  the  vernacular  of 
Dutch  life,  accompanied  on  the  part  of  Rembrandt  with 
strong  emotional  and  dramatic  appeal,  expressed  by 
means  of  color  and  chiaroscuro.  It  was  also  Rem- 
brandt's practice  to  employ  models  selected  from  the 
Ghetto  in  Amsterdam.  Among  his  followers  was  a 
group  of  men  who  emulated  his  treatment  of  Biblical 
subjects,  while  they  also  distinguished  themselves  in  por- 
traiture. Hence  the  convenience  of  considering  these 
two  branches  of  Dutch  painting  in  the  same  chapter. 
Moreover,  the  incongruity  between  the  two  is  not  so 
great  as  it  may  appear  at  first  sight,  since  the  Dutch 
perpetuated  the  Flemish  tendency,  which  was  also  Ger- 
man, of  not  only  personifying  the  sacred  characters  by 
personages  of  their  own  day,  but  of  reproducing  so 
faithfully  their  characterization  that  the  heads  were 
practically  portraits. 

Among  the  pupils  of  Rembrandt  who  varied  portrai- 
ture with  pictures  from  the  Bible  story  were,  in  order  of 
their  age,  Govert  Flinck,  Ferdinand  Bol,  Carel  Fabri- 
[150  3 


BIBLICAL  SUBJECTS  AND  PORTRAITURE 

tius,  Gerbrandt  van  den  Eeckhout,  and  Aert  de  Gelder ; 
while  another,  who  is  known  solely  as  a  portrait-painter, 
was  Dirck  Dircksz  Santvoort. 


GO  VERT  FLINCK 

This  artist  (1615-1660)  began  by  being  so  close  an 
imitator  of  Rembrandt's  method  of  chiaroscuro  that 
many  of  his  pictures  used  to  be  taken  for  his  master's; 
later,  however,  when  the  fashion  for  Italian  art  was  re- 
vived, he  abandoned  the  chiaroscuro  and  devoted  him- 
self to  line  and  form.  Indeed,  he  seems  to  have  been  an 
able  opportunist;  but  to  mistake  him  for  Rembrandt 
suggests  a  shallow  conception  of  the  latter.  Flinck's 
Biblical  masterpiece  is  probably  the  Isaac  Blessing 
Jacob,  in  the  Rijks  Museum.  The  patriarch's  half- 
figure,  as  he  sits  propped  up  by  pillows,  is  clad  in  a 
splendid  crimson  robe ;  the  gesture  of  the  arms  is  full  of 
dignity,  and  the  head  crowned  with  the 'majestic  charac- 
ter of  old  age.  And  the  aged  face  of  Rebecca  is  rever- 
ently characteristic.  The  color  throughout  is  rich,  and 
the  light  and  shadow  are  warm  and  luminous.  It  is  an 
effective  rendering  of  a  grave  incident,  but  the  latter 
has  been  seen  rather  than  felt,  and  certainly  not  with 
the  depth  and  poignancy  of  feeling  that  Rembrandt 
would  have  suggested.  Another  fine  example  of 
Flinck's  is  in  the  Dresden  GduYLerj— David  Handing 
the  Letter  to  Uriah.  Crimson  again  appears  in  the 
king's  robe,  contrasted  with  which  is  a  large  mass  of 
golden  yellow  with  red  border,  formed  by  the  cloak  of 
1:1513 


THE  STORY  OF  DUTCH  PAINTING 

a  secretary  at  his  side,  while  Uriah's  figure,  kept  in 
shadow,  is  clad  in  peacock  blue  and  purplish  brown. 
The  whole  forms  a  splendid  scheme  of  color,  and  again 
the  characterization  is  extremely  interesting,  especially 
that  of  the  black-haired  and  -bearded  king,  who  shows  a 
certain  mingling  of  hardness  and  nervousness  in  his  face 
and  demeanor.  The  treatment  is  seriously  conceived, 
but  with  rather  a  faint  grasp  of  the  dramatic  possibil- 
ities involved  in  the  theme. 

In  the  Angel  and  the  Shepherds  of  the  Louvre  there 
is  still  less  feeling  for  the  scene,  except  in  so  far  as  it 
offered  an  opportunity  for  chiaroscuro.  Even  the  com- 
position is  rather  perfunctory,  the  shepherds  being  hud- 
dled on  the  right,  balanced  by  a  cow  and  sheep  on  the 
opposite  side  of  the  foreground,  while  the  angel  who 
brings  the  message  of  Christ's  birth  appears  above  in 
the  center  with  cherubs.  Nor  is  the  chiaroscuro  satis- 
factory, for  while  there  are  some  nice  passages  of  color 
in  the  lighted  parts,  the  shadows  are  without  quality  and 
seem  used  only  as  foils  to  the  light,  and  not  as  having 
individual  value.  More  successful  in  its  recollection  of 
the  Rembrandt  manner,  and  altogether  a  picture  of 
considerable  charm,  is  the  classical  subject,  Diana  and 
Endymion,  in  the  Liechtenstein  Gallery,  Vienna. 

In  the  Dresden  Gallery  are  two  of  the  old-men  studies 
that  this  artist  frequently  painted,  while  a  more  impor- 
tant example  of  his  fondness  for  representing  old  age  is 
shown  in  the  Art-History  Museum,  Vienna.  This 
Gray-Bearded  Old  Man  suggests,  like  the  others,  the 
influence  of  Rembrandt,  but  superficially.  It  has  the 
venerableness  of  old  age,  but  not  the  power  of  expres- 


Jl 


BIBLICAL  SUBJECTS  AND  PORTRAITURE 

sion  that  makes  Rembrandt's  treatment  of  this  subject 
so  spiritually  compelling. 

The  Louvre  has  a  charming  Portrait  of  a  Little  Girl, 
in  an  olive-green  dress,  holding  a  spade.  In  arrange- 
ment of  costume  and  choice  of  color  it  is  quite  Rem- 
brandtesque.  Again,  in  the  Berlin  Gallery  is  a  very 
pleasing  Portrait  of  a  Young  Woman.  But  it  is  in  the 
Rijks  Museum  that  the  portraiture  of  Flinck  can  best 
be  studied,  both  in  corporation  pictures  and  single  fig- 
ures. They  vary  in  quality  from  the  quite  impressive 
bust  portrait  (No.  931)  of  31.  Johannes  Wittenhogaert 
( ?) ,  with  its  mellow  flesh  tints  and  strong  suggestion  of 
character,  to  the  showy  but  perfunctory  Fete  of  the  Civil 
Guard,  Miinster,  16 AS.  In  this  there  is  no  charm  of  flesh 
and  little  of  fabrics.  The  whole  is  pompously  theatrical, 
done  apparently  for  "business,"  with  no  eye  to  anything 
but  satisfying  the  vanity  of  the  subjects. 


FERDINAND  BOL 

Ferdinand  Bol  (1616-1680)  in  the  beginning  of  his 
career  reproduced  the  manner  of  Rembrandt.  His  col- 
oring was  mellow  and  enriched  by  chiaroscuro.  Later, 
about  1650,  the  chiaroscuro  became  less  pronounced  and 
the  color  insipid.  While  he  is  esteemed  chiefly  for  his 
portraits,  he  also  treated  Biblical  subjects,  as  may  be 
seen  by  three  examples  in  the  Dresden  Gallery  and  two 
in  the  Rijks  Museum.  The  most  pleasing  of  the  Dres- 
den pictures  is  Jacob  Presented  to  Pharaoh  by  Joseph. 
There  is  a  very  characteristic  look  of  scrutiny  in  Pha- 


THE  STORY. OF  DUTCH  PAINTING 

raoh's  face,  while  his  jewel-bespangled  cloak,  with  its 
broad  border  of  white  and  black  fur,  affords  a  fine  mass 
of  scintillating  color,  juxtaposed  to  the  rich  creamy  cos- 
timie  of  Joseph  and  the  crimson  of  the  old  man's.  The 
picture,  indeed,  presents  a  very  handsome  color-scheme, 
though  one  may  discover  a  certain  stiffness  and  theatri- 
cality in  the  gesture  of  Joseph's  hands.  The  accom- 
panying picture.  Rest  of  the  Holy  Family  during  Its 
Flight  into  Egypt,  is  over  six  feet  high  and  suggests  a 
canvas  too  large  for  the  material  introduced,  so  that  one 
third  of  it  is  filled  up  with  supernumerary  articles,  such 
as  a  saddle  and  a  basket  of  tools.  One  suspects  that  the 
picture  may  have  been  intended  as  a  decoration  for  some 
wall-space,  as  the  very  large  example  in  the  Rijks  ]Mu- 
seum  certainly  was.  For  this,  Abraham  Receiving  the 
Angels  was  one  of  five  panels  painted  for  a  room  in  a 
house  at  Utrecht,  the  other  four  being  now  in  the  abbey 
of  ]Middelburg  in  Zeeland.  A  mild  reflection  of  Italian 
Renaissance  feeling  is  suggested  hy  the  comme  il  faut 
disposition  of  the  angels'  draperies,  but  their  coloring  of 
golden  amber  is  finely  Rembrandtesque;  so,  too,  the 
glow  of  the  yello^^ing  beech-tree  that  spires  up  into  the 
top  of  the  composition,  and  the  plum-gray  velvet  of 
Abraham's  robe.  The  picture,  in  fact,  while  shallow  in 
its  treatment  of  the  incident,  is  finely  decorative.  On 
the  other  hand,  the  Salome  Dancing  before  Herod,  a 
work  apparently  of  Bol's  later  period,  is  an  absurdly 
bad  picture,  bright  and  flimsy  in  color  and  entirely 
trifling  as  a  study  of  form. 

Of  Bol's  capacity  in  portrait-painting  a  good  exam- 
ple is  Portrait  of  a  Mathematician,  in  the  LomTc.    He 
is  shown  resting  one  arm  on  a  balustrade,  the  body,  in 
[154] 


BIBLICAL  SUBJECTS  AND  PORTRAITURE 

black  with  a  white  collar,  being  in  profile,  while  the 
gray-haired  head,  covered  with  a  black  cap,  is  facing 
round  to  the  spectator,  as  he  points  with  a  ruler  to  a 
geometrical  figure  on  a  blackboard.  It  is  a  piece  of 
honest  characterization,  blending  vivacity  and  dignity. 
In  quite  a  different  vein  is  his  portrait  of  a  girl  in  profile 
in  the  Liechtenstein  Gallery.  She  has  soft  pale  blond 
hair,  and  the  figure  is  enveloped  in  that  yellow  tonality 
which  marks  Bol's  transition  from  the  Rembrandtesque 
manner  to  his  later  one.  The  girl  with  her  protruding 
forehead  bears  a  striking  resemblance  to  a  girl,  painted 
by  Rembrandt,  in  Room  VI  of  the  same  gallery,  and  a 
comparison  of  the  two  pictures  offers  an  interesting 
commentary  upon  the  essential  difference  between  the 
master  and  one  of  his  most  successful  pupils. 

Among  five  portraits  by  Bol  in  the  Munich  Pinako- 
thek  No.  338  may  be  specified  as  particularly  handsome. 
It  is  that  of  a  man  with  dark-brown  hair  and  a  mustache 
and  imperial  of  lighter  hue,  possibly  Govert  Flinck. 
He  wears  a  black  cap  and  cloak  and  leans  his  arm  upon 
a  table.  The  following  number  in  the  catalogue  is  al- 
lotted to  a  portrait  of  this  man's  wife.  She  is  shown  as 
far  as  the  waist,  where  her  hands  are  folded,  the  body 
full  front,  the  head  a  little  to  the  left.  The  face  is  beau- 
tifully modeled  in  clear  flesh-tones,  surrounded  by 
golden-brown  hair  in  ringlets.  Beneath  her  white  stom- 
acher is  a  dull-red  gown  with  olive  sleeves.  Thus  the 
color-scheme  is  Rembrandtesque,  with  an  envelop  of 
warm  amber  atmosphere,  while  the  serious  sympathy 
with  which  the  characterization  has  been  rendered  would 
not  be  unworthy  of  Bol's  great  master. 

Unfortunately,  Bol  by  no  means  maintamed  this  high 
[155] 


THE  STORY  OF  DUTCH  PAINTING 

standard,  as  maj'^  be  seen  among  the  numerous  examples 
of  his  portraits  in  the  Rijks  ^Museum.  They  mostly  be- 
long to  his  later  period.  The  best  is  the  earliest  one, 
painted  in  1657,  representing  the  Sice  Governors  of  the 
Huiszittenhuis,  seated  round  a  table  in  black  clothes  and 
steeple  hats.  The  heads  are  well  characterized  and  the 
flesh- tones  luminous;  but  an  air  of  attitudinizing  per- 
vades the  assemblage,  which  has  rather  the  prim,  set 
manner  of  a  photographic  group.  And  much  the  same 
feehng  is  aroused  by  the  Four  Governors  of  the  Leper 
House,  which  is  considered  in  Holland  his  masterpiece. 
In  fact,  it  is  not  in  the  formal  arrangement  of  a  corpora- 
tion picture,  but  in  a  single  figure,  that  Bol  is  seen  to 
best  advantage.  Yet  some  of  the  examples  of  these  in 
the  Rijks  Museum,  such  as  the  Roelof  Meiilenaar  and 
Maria  Rey,  are  commonplace  parodies  of  Rembrandt's 
manner,  while  that  of  the  sculptor  Artus  QueUinus  is  a 
parody  of  Van  Dyck's  elegance.  Bol,  in  fact,  was  an 
able  assimilator  of  his  master,  Rembrandt,  and  as  long 
as  he  retained  the  enthusiasm  of  his  youth,  painted  cred- 
itable and  often  excellent  portraits.  Later,  however,  he 
drifted  into  the  swim  of  social  decadence,  and  his  work  is 
characterized  by  affectation,  vapidity,  and  perfunctori- 
ness. 


CAREL  FABRITIUS 

Fabritius  (about  1620-1654),  after  studying  wath 
Rembrandt,  resided  in  Delft,  where  he  became,  it  will 
be  recalled,  the  teacher  of  Jan  Vermeer.  His  life  was 
prematurety  cut  short  by  the  explosion  of  a  powder- 
[156] 


BIBLICAL  SUBJECTS  AND  PORTRAITURE 

magazine,  while  he  was  in  the  act  of  painting  the  por- 
trait of  Simon  Decker,  sacristan  of  the  old  church  at 
Delft.  In  consequence,  the  number  of  his  pictures  is 
small,  and  some  of  those  which  appear  under  his  name 
in  the  catalogues  are  of  disputed  attribution.  He  must 
have  had  a  precocious  talent,  for  the  Portrait  of  Abra- 
ham de  Notte,  in  the  Rijks  INIuseum,  is  dated  1640,  when 
the  artist  was  scarcely  twenty.  It  is  a  bust  portrait 
in  which  the  black-haired  head,  set  against  a  light 
background,  is  well  enveloped  in  atmosphere,  while  the 
features  are  fluently  modeled  in  warm,  luminous  tones. 
It  proves  him  to  have  been  an  exceptionally  apt  pupil 
of  the  master,  and  helps  to  justify  the  attribution  to  him 
of  the  other  picture  in  the  Rijks  Museum,  The  Decapi- 
tation of  St.  John  the  Baptist,  a  powerful  and  attractive 
work.  A  golden  luminosity,  rich  in  quality,  pervades 
the  whole  canvas.  The  characterization  of  the  figures 
is  striking.  The  executioner,  a  sturdy,  brutal  figure, 
with  a  rubicund,  swollen  face,  showing  above  his  white 
shirt,  holds  the  head  upon  a  salver,  with  the  absolute  un- 
concern of  a  butcher  serving  meat.  A  corresponding 
lack  of  emotion  is  apparent  in  the  two  female  figures, 
daintily  dressed  and  of  girlish  refinement,  Salome's  eyes 
gazing  into  vacancy  with  a  wistful  expression,  while 
Herodias,  looking  but  little  older,  gazes  at  the  head  with 
a  slight  air  of  curiosity.  The  conception  of  these  women 
is  early  Italian  rather  than  what  one  would  associate 
with  Dutch  of  the  seventeenth  century,  and  recalls  the 
expression  of  INIantegna's  Judith  rvith  the  Head  of  Ho- 
lof ernes.  They  suggest  a  sexless  abstraction,  moved  by 
no  active  impulse,  yet  hauntingly  fascinating  in  its 
D573 


THE  STORY  OF  DUTCH  PAINTING 

young  passionlessness.  In  the  Berlin  Gallery  a  Study 
of  a  Man  Praying  is  attributed  to  Fabritius,  while  in  the 
]Munich  Pinakothek  are  two  portraits  of  young  men 
associated  with  his  name.  The  bust  portrait,  No.  344, 
is  definitely  assigned  to  him,  while  the  half-length,  No. 
345,  once  attributed  to  him,  is  now^  assigned  to  Rem- 
brandt. It  represents  a  young  man  with  long  hair  parted 
in  the  center,  who,  holding  a  sheaf  of  paper  and  a  pen, 
seems  to  have  paused  in  his  WTiting  and  is  looking  up 
and  out  of  the  picture  M'ith  an  expression  of  rapt  medita- 
tion. In  its  different  way  it  is  akin  to  the  expression  of 
the  Salome  in  the  other  picture.  That  so  gravely  fine  a 
picture  should  have  passed  for  a  Fabritius  suggests  the 
character  of  the  estimation  which  hangs  about  the  mem- 
ory of  this  artist,  who  did  not  live  to  fulfil  the  promise 
of  his  youth.  ^loreover,  what  is  known  and  what  is  con- 
jectured about  him  suggests  the  value  of  his  influence 
upon  Jan  Vermeer,  whose  own  tendency  to  give  his  fig- 
ures a  concentrated  absorption  may  possibly  be  traced 
to  this  source. 

GEEBRANDT  VAN  DEN  EECKHOUT 

Eeckhout  (1621-1674),  the  son  of  an  Amsterdam 
goldsmith,  was  the  first  pupil  to  enter  Rembrandt's 
studio  and  one  of  his  closest  imitators.  For  example,  in 
The  Woman  Taken  in  Adultery  of  the  Rijks  Museum, 
the  face  of  the  lonely  figure  of  Christ  is  the  center  of 
light  amid  the  coruscation  of  rich  coloring  formed  by 
the  costumes  of  the  scribes  and  Pharisees,  while  a  quieter 
note  of  dignity  appears  in  the  fine  green  and  plum 
[158;] 


BIBLICAL  SUBJECTS  AND  PORTRAITURE 

draperies  of  the  kneeling  woman.  The  color  is  sonorous, 
yet  its  echo  does  not  penetrate  to  the  depths  of  the  sur- 
roundings, the  shadows  of  which  are  inclined  to  be 
opaque  and  unexplorable.  Better  in  this  respect,  that 
its  shadows  are  more  luminous,  is  the  Christ  tvith  the 
Doctors  of  the  ]Munich  Pinakothek.  Here  the  strongest 
light  centers  on  the  head  of  an  old  rabbi,  so  as  to  bring 
out  the  color  of  his  turban  and  beard  while  leaving  his 
face  in  shadow;  a  device  whicli  makes  the  little  face  of 
the  Child  Christ,  though  it  is  clearly  illuminated,  seem 
by  comparison  pathetically  insignificant.  Meanwhile 
the  light  touches  here  and  there  the  other  figures  in  the 
group  and  penetrates  their  environment  of  shadow.  It 
is  worth  while  to  compare  this  picture  with  the  series  of 
Biblical  subjects  by  Rembrandt  in  the  same  museum, 
particularly  the  Adoration  of  the  Shepherds.  In  the 
Berlin  Gallery  Eeckhout  is  represented  by  Raising  of 
Jairus's  Daughter  and  a  Presentation  of  Christ  in  the 
Temple.  These  pictures,  particularly  the  latter,  are 
wonderfully  reminiscent  of  Rembrandt,  finely  composed 
in  masses  of  light  and  shade  and  sumptuous  in  color.  In 
a  third  example,  Mercury  and  Argus,  Eeckhout  has 
treated  this  mythological  subject  with  some  charm.  The 
young  nude  figure  of  Mercury,  with  a  blue  drapery  over 
his  knees,  as  he  sits  playing  his  pipe,  is  a  charming  white 
spot  against  the  warm  ruddiness  of  the  rocky  landscape, 
where  beside  a  white  and  red  cow  the  brown  nude  form 
of  Argus  is  stretched,  as  if  in  sleep.  Farther  back  in 
shadow  are  the  sheep  and  goats.  The  feeling  of  the  pic- 
ture is  pleasant ;  but  its  suggestion  is  inclined  to  be  rather 
superficial. 

1:1593 


THE  STORY  OF  DUTCH  PAINTING 

Of  this  artist's  portraits  there  is  an  example  in  the 
Brunswick  Gallery  and  one  excellent  specimen  in  the 
National  Gallery.  This  is  The  Wine  Contract,  in 
which  the  four  governors  of  the  Wine  Guild  of  Amster- 
dam, dressed  in  black,  are  seated  at  a  table,  examining 
a  contract. 


AEKT  DE  GELDER 

De  Gelder  was  a  pupil  of  Rembrandt's  old  age.  He 
himself  was  not  born  until  1645,  and,  it  is  supposed,  was 
little  over  fifteen  when,  after  studying  with  Hoogstraten 
in  their  native  city,  Dordrecht,  he  went  to  Amsterdam. 
Then  he  returned  to  Dordrecht  and  resided  there  until 
his  death  in  1727.  He  is  thus  one  of  the  latest  of  the 
artists  of  the  period  we  are  considering.  An  early  work, 
dated  1671,  directly  inspired  by  Rembrandt,  is  in  the 
Dresden  Gallery.  The  Presentation  of  Christ  in  the 
Temple  is  a  reproduction  in  color  of  Rembrandt's  well- 
known  etching  of  this  subject,  worked  out  in  red  and 
brown  and  olive  green,  enveloped  in  a  dull,  warm  glow, 
which,  however,  has  more  of  mannerism  than  of  sugges- 
tion to  the  imagination.  The  accompanying  example  in 
this  gallery.  An  Important  Document,  shows  a  man  and 
woman  seated  at  a  table,  covered  with  a  red  cloth,  exam- 
ining a  paper.  The  coloring  is  warm,  the  hands  and 
faces,  however,  inclining  to  an  unpleasant  brickiness  of 
red,  while  the  whole  aspect  of  the  scene  is  lifelike  but 
uninspired.  The  Dresden  Gallery  also  owns  the  Por- 
trait of  a  Halberdier  J  a  well-painted  and  fairly  interest- 
ing study  of  a  stout  man,  with  rosy,  glowing  face  be- 
D60] 


BIBLICAL  SUBJECTS  AND  PORTRAITURE 

neath  a  fur-brimnied  hat,  whose  uniform  is  of  various 
tones  of  ohve  green. 

De  Gelder  is  also  represented  by  three  portraits  in  the 
Rijks  ISIuseum  and  by  a  Bibhcal  subject,  Judah  and 
Thamar,  in  the  Hague  Gallery,  but  the  best  example  of 
the  latter  kind  is  in  the  Museum  of  Art  at  Budapest. 
This  Esther  and  Mordecai,  dated  1685,  shows  the  queen, 
seated  at  a  table  before  an  open  book,  resplendent  in  a 
brocaded  and  jeweled  cloak  and  a  tagged  and  tufted 
dress,  listening  while  JNIordecai,  bending  forward  with 
humble  admiration,  addresses  her.  The  coloring  is  rich 
and  mellow,  and  the  delineation  of  character,  especially 
in  the  case  of  Mordecai,  has  considerable  suggestion  of 
the  spirit  of  the  story. 


DmCK  DIRCKSZ  SANTVOOET 

If  it  is  a  fact,  as  generally  supposed,  that  Santvoort 
(1610-1680)  was  one  of  Rembrandt's  pupils,  he  did  not 
follow  the  master's  use  of  chiaroscuro,  but  rather  the 
example  of  his  elaborately  detailed  portraits.  In  Sant- 
voort's  owTi  case,  as  he  may  be  studied  in  the  Rijks  IVIu- 
seum,  this  led  at  first'  to  hardness  of  modehng,  as  may  be 
seen  in  the  portrait  group  of  the  Dirck  Bas  Jacohsz 
Family,  dated  1634,  where  the  stiffness  of  the  composi- 
tion is  increased  by  the  gaze  of  every  face  being  focused 
to  one  point.  Still  hard,  but  full  of  character,  is  a  later 
portrait,  dated  1638,  of  Four  Ladies  of  the  Spinhuis. 
The  latter  was  the  house  of  correction,  and  these  guar- 
dians and  matrons  look  competent  to  rule  it  firmly. 

cm  3 


THE  STORY  OF  DUTCH  PAINTING 

More  theatrical  in  arrangement,  with  hands  pointing 
this  way  and'  that,  is  the  Four  Governors  of  the  Serge 
Hall  (1643).  Meanwhile,  three  years  earlier,  Sant- 
voort  painted  the  single  portrait  of  Frederick  Dircksz 
Alervyn,  which  again  is  harsh  in  texture  and  bronze-like 
in  color.  On  the  other  hand,  the  portrait  of  this  man's 
-v^dfe,  Agatha  Geelvinch,  has  a  distinct  charm.  The  light 
falls  upon  her  forehead  and  soft  hair,  which  is  frizzed 
out  with  little  curls,  while  the  features  are  modeled  with 
a  dainty  discretion  that  recalls  a  Florentine  primitive. 
Then  follow  two  portraits  of  children,  respectively  ten 
and  nine  years  old,  Martinus  and  Clara  Alewyn.  They 
are  represented  as  a  shepherd  and  shepherdess,  the  for- 
mer in  a  rose  tunic,  with  a  scarf  of  goldish  sheen,  quite 
Rembrandtesque  in  quality,  the  latter  in  a  satin  dress  of 
the  hue  of  strawberries  and  cream.  She  carries  a  bow 
and  arrow,  and  is  accompanied  b}^  lambs,  while  the  boy 
is  attended  by  a  black  greyhound.  The  hands  and  faces 
are  well  modeled  and  have  expression,  while  the  painting 
throughout  is  fluent  and  limpid.  The  pictures  are  in- 
clined to  sentimentality,  which,  however,  is  more  easily 
excused  because  of  the  youngness  of  the  children  and  the 
painter-like  quahty  of  the  technique. 


BARTHOLOMEUS  VAX  DER  HELST 

From  the  above  followers  of  Rembrandt,  who  reflect  the 
manner  but  so  little  of  the  greatness  of  the  master,  it  is 
a  relief  to  turn  to  a  portrait-painter  who,  while  he  owed 
something  to  Rembrandt  in  the  way  of  chiaroscuro,  was 

[162] 


PORTRAIT  OF  PAUL  POTTER  BARTHOLOMEUS  VAX  DER  HELST 

HAGUE  MUSEUM 


BIBLICAL  SUBJECTS  AND  PORTRAITURE 

an  independent  personality  and  one  of  force.  It  is  Bar- 
tholomeus  van  der  Heist,  born  in  Haarlem  in  1613,  whose 
life,  however,  was  spent  in  Amsterdam,  where  he  died  in 
1670.  It  is  in  the  Rijks  INIuseum  that  he  is  most  bril- 
liantly represented,  though  his  single  portraits  stud  the 
galleries  of  Europe.  Their  usual  feature  is  direct  and 
vivid  characterization,  conveyed  without  much  persua- 
siveness of  manner,  but  singularly  sincere.  One  exam- 
ple, however,  the  Portrait  of  Paul  Potter^  is  an  excep- 
tion, being  both  in  technique  and  feeling  one  of  the  most 
persuasive  portraits  to  be  met  with.  It  has  in  it  also  a 
suggestion  of  the  feeling  for  decorative  arrangement, 
which  was  elaborated  on  so  simiptuous  a  scale  in  the  cor- 
poration pictures  of  the  Rijks  Museum. 

In  the  chapter  on  Hals  I  alluded  to  Van  der  Heist  as 
his  inferior  in  composition  and  characterization.  And 
the  judgment  stands,  especially  when  you  find  yourself 
at  Haarlem  in  the  presence  of  the  superb  facility  and 
quality  of  Hals's  genius.  None  the  less,  when  you  face 
the  prodigious  output  of  Van  der  Heist's  talent  in  the 
Rijks  Museum,  you  realize  that,  while  he  was  less  effi- 
cient as  a  painter,  less  gifted  with  the  ease,  as  it  were,  of 
improvisation,  in  his  compositions,  he  had  yet  an  exuber- 
ance of  invention  and  a  gusto  for  characteristic  general- 
ization, so  amazing  that  from  a  distance  one  may  be 
disposed  to  question  if  Hals,  after  all,  w^as  so  much 
greater.  At  his  best  he  undoubtedly  was,  having  the 
artist's  fine  gift  of  heightening  the  significance  of  what 
he  handled,  and  even  in  his  less  memorable  work  exhibit- 
ing more  or  less  of  that  magical  manipulation  which  is 
itself  an  inspiration.  Beside  him  Van  der  Heist  is  less 
[1633 


11 


THE  STORY  OF  DUTCH  PAINTING 

the  artist  than  a  mighty  craftsman,  and,  when  one  grows 
enthusiastic  over  him,  it  is  not  because  he  has  heightened 
the  appeal  of  his  material,  but  because  he  realizes  so  won- 
derfully the  prodigal  physical  exuberance  of  his  day. 
This  reaches  its  culmination  in  his  masterpiece,  The 
Banquet  of  the  Civic  Guard  (No.  1135).  Grouped 
around  the  standard-bearer,  who  is  in  black  velvet  with 
a  sash  of  the  same  blue  silk  as  the  flag,  are  some  two 
dozen  figures,  arranged  in  natural  positions,  with  easy 
gestures  and  heads  and  hands  individually  characterized. 
In  these  particulars  and  the  treatment  of  the  fabrics 
there  is  more  than  mere  craftsmanship.  The  latter  has 
been  regulated  by  a  superior  order  of  intellect. 

It  is  here  that  one  seems  to  discover  the  essential  dif- 
ference between  Van  der  Heist  and  Hals.  The  former 
is  intellectually  the  bigger  man,  while  Hals's  distinction 
is  a  superiority  of  feehng.  His  work,  therefore,  has  the 
sensuous  charm  in  which  the  other's  is  deficient.  When 
in  the  light  of  this  you  reexamine  Van  der  Heist's  mas- 
terpiece, it  is  to  discover  that  what  is  lacking  in  it  is  the 
esthetic  quality.  The  composition  is  not  pervaded  with 
atmosphere,  in  the  various  planes  of  which  the  figures 
might  take  on  differences  of  subtle  value;  and,  while 
there  is  an  arrangement  of  light  and  shade,  it  is  used 
only  to  assist  -the  modeling  of  the  figures,  and  with  no 
feeling  for  heightening  the  beauty  of  the  color-scheme 
by  the  luminosity  of  the  hues.  The  result  is  that  the 
scene,  for  all  its  assertion  of  vital  force,  is  lacking  in 
vivacity.  The  same  test,  applied  to  the  other  corpora- 
tion pictures  and  single  portraits  by  this  artist  in  the 
Kijks  Museum,  corroborates  the  conviction  that,  apart 
[;i64] 


BIBLICAL  SUBJECTS  AND  PORTRAITURE 

from  Rembrandt,  Van  der  Heist  was  the  biggest  intel- 
lectual force  among  the  portrait-painters  of  Holland, 
but  that  he  lacked  the  esthetic  feeling  and  accordingly 
the  quality  of  technique  which  alone  make  him  inferior 
to  Hals. 


THOMAS  DE  KEYSER 

Son  of  an  architect  and  sculptor,  Thomas  de  Keyser  was 
born  in  Amsterdam,  1596  or  1597,  and  died  there  in 
1667.  His  career  is  divided  by  a  date  about  1628.  Be- 
fore this  his  portraits  are  similar  in  character  to  those  of 
Nicolaes  Elias,  with  which  they  have  been  confused. 
The  figures  have  a  hardness  and  some  stiffness,  but  un- 
mistakable carrying  power;  the  flesh  is  leathery,  dull  in 
color,  and  expressionless,  and  the  composition  either  for- 
mally arranged  in  rows,  or  artlessly  strung  out  in  sepa- 
rate items.  Thus  his  earlier  portraits  present  a  curious 
mingling  of  power  and  naivete.  They  are  representa- 
tive of  real  people,  but  are  not  yet  conceived  with  an 
artist's  eye.  Then  by .1628  a. change  begins  to  appear 
in  De  Keyser's  work,  as  it  also  did  a  few  yea^-s  later  in 
that  of  Elias.  Atmosphere  creeps  into  his  pictures;  the 
flesh  becomes  more  luminous,  the  composition  at  once 
more  varied  and  more  unified,  and  the  figures,  mthout 
losing  their  character,  acquire  amenity  and  dignity.  It 
is  said  that  De  Keyser's  work  influenced  the  young 
Rembrandt  when  he  first  settled  in  Amsterdam,  and  it 
would  seem  as  if  also  the  older  man  gradually  gained 
something  from  the  younger. 

In  the  Rijks  Museum  an  example  of  De  Keyser's 
[165;] 


THE  STORY  OF  DUTCH  PAINTING 

early  style  is  The  Company  of  Captain  Cloeck  (No. 
1300) .  It  is  true  it  is  dated  1632 ;  but  it  still  exhibits  the 
hard-fleshed,  vacantly  staring  faces,  the  figures  in  un- 
imaginative poses  and  in  no  atmospheric  envelop,  and 
spiritless  treatment  of  the  fabrics.  But  compare  The 
Family  Meeheech  Cruywaghen  (No.  1349).  Here  the 
group  is  held  together  by  a  pleasing  background  of  trees 
and  house,  bathed  in  a  yellow  glow.  It  is  the  homestead, 
and  the  comfort  of  it  is  reflected  in  the  charming  spon- 
taneousness  of  feeling  in  the  figures— father,  mother, 
and  grandmother,  and  six  happy  children.  Each  is  de- 
lightfully individualized,  and  the  expression  of  the 
whole  picture  is  one  of  dignity  and  sweetness.  Or  for 
dignity,  again,  of  a  very  refined  order,  take  the  eques- 
trian Portrait  of  Pieter  Schout  (No.  1650).  There  is 
here  a  fine  feeling  for  color,  the  black  horse  and  its 
rider's  black  hat  and  yellow  coat  showing  grandly 
against  the  drab  gray  of  the  lofty  sky,  below  which  are 
sand-dunes  with  light-green  verdure.  The  picture, 
though  scarcely  three  feet  high,  has  a  sense  of  space  and 
the  bigness  of  a  large  canvas. 

The  startling  difference  between  De  Keyser's  two 
styles  is  well  exemplified  in  the  Berlin  Gallery,  where 
you  can  compare  the  hard  spread-out  arrangement  in 
black  dresses  of  An  Old  Lady  and  Her  Three  Daugh- 
ters with  the  genial  dignity  oi  An  Old  Man  and  His 
Two  Son^.  An  exceedingly  interesting  Portrait  of  a 
Woman  hangs  in  the  Museum  of  Art  in  Budapest. 
About  fifty  years  old,  she  is  seated  in  an  arm-chair  al- 
most facing  us ;  in  a  handsome  black  silk  dress,  trimmed 
with  brown  fur,  with  a  wide  starched  ruff  and  a  lawn  cap 
[;i663 


(I 


BIBLICAL  SUBJECTS  AND  PORTRAITURE 

with  wings  over  the  ears.  Her  honest  face  is  modeled 
in  firm  planes,  and  is  ruddy  with  health.  This  painter- 
like  and  admirably  himian  portrait  is  dated  in  the  year 
that  has  been  adopted  as  separating  the  artist's  two 
periods:  namely,  1628. 

Among  the  portrait-painters  whose  work  exhibits  the 
characteristic  qualities  of  Dutch  seventeenth-century 
art  are  INIichiel  Jansz  van  INIierevelt  (1567-1641)  and 
Jan  Anthonisz  van  Ravesteyn,  both  of  whom  lived  at 
The  Hague,  where  they  are  well  represented  in  the  Mau- 
ritshuis;  Salomon  de  Bray  (1597-1664),  who  lived  in 
Haarlem,  where  he  can  be  seen  to.  best  advantage,  and 
Paulus  Moreelse  (1571-1638),  who  was  born  and  lived 
the  greater  part  of  his  hfe  in  Utrecht.  To  the  average 
student  of  painting  the  last  named  is  probably  the  most 
interesting.  The  others  are  highly  esteemed  in  Hol- 
land, though  it  is  pointed  out  that  in  the  latter  part  of 
their  lives  quality  gave  way  to  quantity.  Indeed,  they 
were  so  prolific  that  one  tires  of  trying  to  pick  good 
examples  out  of  the  mass  of  mediocrity.  In  the  case  of 
Moreelse,  however,  it  is  different.  His  works,  less  nu- 
merous, have  a  choiceness  of  feeling  and  execution,  his 
portraits  of  women  and  children  being  especially  gra- 
cious in  conception  and  treatment.  Witness,  for  ex- 
ample, in  the  Rijks  jNIuseimi  the  Maria  van  Utrecht  and 
the  portrait  of  a  child  of  some  seven  years.  The  Little 
Princess.  In  place  of  breadth  and  freedom,  these  pic- 
tures are  precise  and  meticulous  in  brushwork,  the  de- 
tails of  the  costumes  elaborately  reproduced,  the  faces 
softly  modeled  with  faint  greenish-gray  shadows.  Yet 
Ll67n 


THE  STORY  OF  DUTCH  PAINTING 

they  have  character  and  suggest  reality  and  possess  an 
undeniable  charm.  Somewhat  broader  in  method  is  his 
Portrait  of  a  Young  Lady,  in  the  Budapest  Museum. 
Seen  to  the  waist,  she  is  in  black  velvet,  with  cuffs  and  a 
deep  collar  of  exquisite  point-lace.  Her  pleasantly 
thoughtful  face  is  painted  with  a  somewhat  dull  and 
heavy  brush,  yet  the  expression  is  that  of  life,  and  its 
charm  is  increased  by  the  soft  hair  being  worn  in  large 
rolls  over  the  ears  and  confined  in  a  cap,  of  which  only 
the  dainty  edges  of  lace  appear.  It  is  a  portrait  of  sin- 
gularly choice  refinement. 

To  the  occasional  portraiture  of  the  genre  artists 
Maes,  Terborch,  and  Netscher  we  have  alluded  in  an- 
other chapter. 


Hies] 


CHAPTER  X 

LANDSCAPE 

IN  the  Berlin  Gallery  are  two  small  examples  of 
Holland  Landscape  with  the  Hamlet  of  Rhenen. 
They  are  by  Hercules  Seghers,  whom  Bode  points 
to  as  the  father  of  seventeenth-century  Dutch  landscape. 
Similar  in  general  design,  they  are  distinguished  by  a 
fine  sweep  of  almost  clear  sky,  swimming  with  vapor, 
from  which  a  level  country,  dotted  with  the  roofs  and 
church  towers  of  a  hamlet  and  threaded  by  a  stream, 
stretches  in  pale-yellow  tones,  broken  up  with  brownish 
shadows,  to  the  foreground.  The  identification  of  the 
scene  and  the  assignment  of  these  pictures  to  Seghers 
have  been  made  possible  by  comparison  with  some  etch- 
ings of  the  same  artist  that  modern  Dutch  research  has 
discovered.  By  the  same  means  other  pictures,  including 
a  Landscape  in  the  Ufiizi  Gallery,  Florence,  which  used 
to  be  attributed  to  Rembrandt,  have  been  restored  to 
Seghers.  This  one  again  shows  a  plain,  intersected  by 
a  stream,  but  bounded  on  the  right  by  the  abrupt  shoul- 
der of  a  mountain,  whose  top  is  merged  in  dark  cloud, 
while  the  rest  of  the  sky  is  an  open  expanse  of  whitish 
light.  In  the  contrast  of  this  with  the  dark  tones  of  the 
ground,  weirdly  interspersed'  with  fitful  gleams,  there  is 
an  extraordinary  impressiveness.  It  is  no  wonder  that 
it  was  mistaken  for  a  Rembrandt;  and  the  interest  in 
"  [169] 


THE  STORY  OF  DUTCH  PAINTING 

Seghers  deepens  when  it  is  ascertained  that  Kembrandt 
himself  was  strongly  influenced  during  his  earlier  years 
in  Amsterdam  by  the  older  artist.  This  has  been  proved 
by  a  comparison  of  certain  of  the  etchings  of  the  two 
men. 

Hercules  Seghers,  in  fact,  seems  to  have  been  in  his 
o^n  day  very  much  what  jNIichel  was  to  the  modern  re- 
vival of  landscape-painting  in  France.  He  was  a  fore- 
runner of  the  later  movement,  but  unrecognized  by  the 
world,  while  almost  the  only  records  that  exist  of  him 
are  documentary  evidences  of  debts.  He  was  born  in 
1590,  probably  in  Haarlem;  worked  in  Haarlem, 
Utrecht,  and  The  Hague,  but  chiefly  in  Amsterdam, 
where  he  died  about  1640. 

In  the  few  examples  of  his  work  that  still  survive,  we 
can  trace  the  twofold  tendency  of  Dutch  landscape:  in 
one  direction  its  note  of  simple  truthfulness  to  the  facts 
of  nature,  and  in  the  other  the  tincture  of  these  facts  with 
a  romantic  spirit.  And,  in  addition  to  thus  setting  the 
motive,  Seghers  proclaimed  the  Dutch  artist's  fondness 
for  effects  of  sky,  for  tonalities  of  grays  and  browns, 
sparingly  enlivened  with  greens. 

For  the  Dutch  landscapists  were  tonalists.  With  the 
single  exception  of  Jan  Vermeer,  who  approximated  the 
'plein-air  of  modern  art,  they  transposed  the  hues  of 
nature  into  a  scheme  of  color  which  is  none  the  less  arbi- 
trary and  unnatural,  although  it  preserves  the  values  of 
nature's  coloring.  In  comparison  ^^dth  the  naturalistic 
achievements  of  the  modern  artist,  who  studies  nature  in 
her  own  environment  of  light  and  renders  her  hues  as 
actual  light  affects  them,  the  Dutch  artist  was  a  com- 

1:1703 


LANDSCAPE 

poser  on  the  theme  of  nature,  but  not  a  naturalist.  The 
same,  however,  in  only  a  less  degree,  is  true  of  the  Barbi- 
zon  artists.  They,  too,  were  composers  of  schemes  of 
tonality,  so  that,  students  of  nature  though  they  were, 
their  landscapes  will  not  compare  in  naturalness  of  sug- 
gestion with  the  work  of  many  a  modern  man  who  will 
probably  never  enjoy  their  fame.  Let  me  add  that  I 
do  not  mean  to  imply  by  this  the  essential  superiority  of 
the  modern  landscape-painter.  That  is  another  ques- 
tion, and  only  to  be  decided  by  each  person  for  himself, 
according  as  he  selects  or  does  not  select  naturalistic 
representation  as  the  standard  of  his  taste.  To  one  who 
does  not  the  tonal  transposition  may  seem  preferable. 
Both  methods,  indeed,  have  their  warrant  in  art. 

But  I  press  the  distinction  because,  unless  it  is  recog- 
nized, Dutch  landscape-painting  cannot  be  properly  ap- 
preciated. If  people  approach  it,  and  it  is  my  experience 
that  many  do,  with  modern  plein-air  achievements  in 
their  eye  and  basing  their  judgment  upon  them,  they  can 
only  suffer  disappointment.  The  Dutch  paintings  will 
seem  "old-fashioned,"  false  to  nature,  and  uninspired. 
On  the  other  hand,  once  the  necessary  attitude  is  as- 
sumed of  accepting  this  transposition  of  color  and  light 
phenomena  of  nature  into  an  equivalent  of  tonal  values, 
proper  appreciation  is  possible.  Then  one  begins  to 
study  the  examples  partly  for  the  quality  of  their 
tonality,  partly  for  the  degree  in  which  they  embody  the 
character  and  spirit  of  the  landscape,  and  partly,  and 
probably  chiefly,  for  the  quality  of  the  artist's  person- 
ality infused  into  them.  ^-. 

cm] 


THE  STORY  OF  DUTCH  PAINTING 


EEMBRANDT 

Rembrandt  was  a  master  of  both  landscape  motives, 
able  alike  to  record  with  truthfulness  the  physical  aspects 
of  a  scene  or  to  infuse  it  with  romantic  suggestion ;  and 
nowhere  more  remarkably  than  in  his  etchings.  In 
these,  with  a  few  lines  that  summarize  the  salient  features 
of  the  scene,  or  with  tonal  effects  of  light  and  shade  that 
elaborate  and  em-ich  the  facts,  he  executed  plates  of 
pure  landscape  or  of  landscape  as  a  setting  for  the 
figures.  Among  his  paintings  the  examples  of  pure 
landscape  are  rare.  The  beautiful  Tohit  and  the  Angel 
of  the  National  Gallery  may  be  considered  one,  as  the 
figures  are  insignificant,  and  another,  which,  however,  is 
a  sea-piece,  is  in  the  Liechtenstein  Gallery  (No.  606)  : 
water,  dotted  with  a  boat  and  a  few  distant  sails,  stretch- 
ing back  to  a  low  horizon,  over  which  spreads  a  vast  open 
creamy  sky,  with  some  finely  buoyant  clouds.  It  is  as  a 
setting  to  figures,  especially  in  the  Biblical  subjects,  that 
Rembrandt's  use  of  landscape  may  best  be  studied.  Here 
it  serves  as  an  orchestration  to  the  theme,  enriching  it 
with  sensuous  and  emotional  suggestion,  and  giving  a  free 
range  to  the  artist's  romantic  and  dramatic  imagination. 


PHILIPS  KONINCK 

Rembrandt's  best-known  pupil  in  landscape  was  Philips 
Koninck,  who  was  born  in  Amsterdam,  1619,  and  died 
there  in  1688,  some  of  his  career  being  spent  abroad. 

cm:] 


f 


LANDSCAPE 

The  character  of  his  work  suggests  that  he,  too,  may- 
have  been  influenced  directly  by  Hercules  Seghers,  for 
he  affected  far-reaching  panoramas  of  flat  country,  in- 
terrupted by  occasional  low  hills  and  traversed  by 
streams.  A  fine  sky  extends  above  the  ground,  which  is 
constructed  in  tones  of  warm  pale  yellow,  olive  green, 
and  reddish  brown.  Notwithstanding  the  comparatively 
large  size  of  the  canvases  and  the  extent  of  the  scene 
included,  the  latter  has  been  felt  so  sjTithetically,  as  well 
as  comprehensively,  that  there  is  no  lack  of  unity.  An 
excellent  ^example  is  The  Dunes,  "The  Valley  of  the 
Rhine  near  Arnheim,"  owned  by  Sir  William  van 
Home  of  ^Montreal.  Another  memorable  example  is  in 
the  Dresden  Gallery,  Dutch  Landscape,  a  view  from  the 
dunes  looking -across  the  level  country.  This  canvas  is 
scarcely  so  large,  but  involves  the  same  sense  of  bigness. 
The  foreground,  which  shows  some  red-roofed  cottages 
amidst  the  olive  greens,  is  constructed  in  an  ample  way ; 
a  river  occupies  the  middle  distance,  and  the  further 
plain  is  dotted  with  httle  trees.  Overhead  is  a  sky  of 
drabbish  gray  and  rosy  cream.  The  Berlin  ]\Iuseum 
owns  a  handsome  example  with  figure  and  cattle  in  the 
foreground,  and  the  Rijks  Museum  contains  two.  Here 
also  are  to  be  seen  four  portraits  by  Koninck  of  Joost 
van  den  Vondel,  two  at  the  age  of  seventy-eight  and  two 
at  eighty-seven;  the  subject  evidently  being  a  friend  of 
the  artist,  for  on  the  back  of  one  of  the  pictures  is  a  dedi- 
catory inscription. 

The  great  nursery  of  Holland  landscape  was  the  city  of 

Haarlem.    Van  Goyen,  it  is  true,  belonged  to  Leyden, 

CITS] 


THE  STORY  OF  DUTCH  PAINTING 

while  Amsterdam,  which  produced  Seghers  and  Koninck, 
in  course  of  time  claimed  many  others.  But  the  majority 
were  citizens  of  Haarlem  or  at  least  spent  a  portion  of 
their  working  life  in  that  city.  They  include  Salomon 
van  Ruisdael  and  his  nephew  Jacob ;  Pieter  Molyn,  Jan 
Wynants,  Allart  van  Everdingen,  and  the  painters 
of  landscape  with  animals  and  figures,  Philips  Wou- 
werman,  Adriaen  van  de  Velde,  and  Nicolaes  Berchem. 

Salomon  van  Ruisdael  (about  1600-1670),  it  has 
been  conjectured,  may  have  been  a  pupil  of  Van  Goyen's 
because  of  a  similarity  between  the  early  work  of  both, 
that  has  lead  to  their  pictures  being  attributed  to  each 
other.  But  later  the  similarity  disappears,  Van  Goyen 
displaying  an  ampler  and  more  poetic  style,  while  Salo- 
mon van  Ruisdael  continues  to  be  the  industrious  painter 
of  landscapes  that,  while  admirably  faithful  to  the  ap- 
pearance of  nature,  are  comparatively  prosaic  in  feeling. 
While  he  was  a  member  of  the  Guild  of  St.  Luke  in 
Haarlem  and  lived  there  continuously,  he  visited  other 
cities,  for  some  of  his  pictures  exhibit  views  of  Leyden, 
Dordrecht,  and  Nimwegen.  The  characteristic  of  his 
work  is  a  quiet,  homely  dignity,  that,  while  it  gives  a 
pleasant  record  of  the  Holland  of  his  day,  seldom  stirs 
one  to  enthusiasm.  Perhaps  his  chief  claim  to  recogni- 
tion is  that  he  was  the  teacher  of  Jacob  van  Ruisdael. 

Pieter  Molyn  (about  1600-1661)  was  a  successful 
teacher,  who  had  the  capacity  to  foster  the  individuality 
of  his  pupils.    Among  these  the  most  famous  was  Gerard 

cm] 


1! 


LANDSCAPE 

Terborch,  who  occasionally  collaborated  with  his  master 
by  introducing  figures  into  his  landscapes.  Molyn's  own 
pictures  were  inclined  to  be  meager  in  composition,  and 
dryly  precise  in  execution. 

Jan  Wynants  (about  1605-1679),  again,  was  fortu- 
nate in  having  a  collaborator,  for  more  than  one  hundred 
and  fifty  of  his  pictures  were  enlivened  with  figures  by 
that  skilful  and  attractive  artist,  Adriaen  van  de  Velde. 
They  add  brilliance  and  animation  to  landscapes  that  in 
themselves  are  painstaking  but  apt  to  be  monotonous. 

Allaet  van  Everdingen  (1621-1675)  is  not  to  be  con- 
founded with  his  brother  Cassar,  who  was  a  rather  indif- 
ferent painter  of  portraits,  genre  and  historical  pictures. 
Allart  was  a  pupil  of  Pieter  Molyn  and  then  worked  in 
Sweden,  subsequently  spending  seven  years  in  Haarlem 
and  the  last  twenty-two  years  of  liis  life  in  Amsterdam. 
His  fame  also  rests  on  his  connection  with  Jacob  van 
Ruisdael,  who  was  induced  by  the  success  of  Everdin- 
gen's  Swedish  landscapes  to  abandon  the  direct  study  of 
nature  and  to  invent  scenes  of  romantic  impressiveness. 
In  the  Rijks  Museum  there  is  a  chance,  in  Nos.  2078 
and  907,  to  compare  side  by  side  the  work  of  these  two 
men.  The  result,  I  think,  is  to  discover  that,  while  they 
may  use  practically  the  same  material  in  the  same  way, 
Ruisdael  gives  a  character  to  each  object,  that  makes 
you  feel  as  if  he  had  penetrated  into  the  heart  as  well  as 
the  marrow  of  the  scene,  while  Everdingen  remains 
merely  a  lover  and  recorder  of  the  picturesque. 
[175] 


THE  STORY  OF  DUTCH  PAINTING 


AERT  VAN  DER  NEER 

Van  DER  Neer  was  born  in  Gorkum  in  1603,  and  died  in 
poverty  at  Amsterdam  in  1677.  In  his  youth  he  was 
steward  in  the  family  of  the- Van  Arkels,  and  at  this  time 
only  occasionally  indulged  his  love  of  painting.  Later 
he  devoted  himself  to  art,  but  found  few  purchasers  for 
his  pictures  and  was  continually  harassed  by  creditors, 
and  at  one  time,  like  Jan  Steen,  kept  a  tavern.  He  is 
distinguished  particularly  for  his  winter  and  moonlight 
scenes,  the  best  of  which  date  from  about  1646.  They 
exhibit  not  only  a  close  study  of  nature  but  a  poetic  feel- 
ing, which  is  deep  and  sincere  and  often  very  impressive. 
He  was  a  painter  of  moods,  expressing  the  sentiment 
usually  in  delicate  tonalities,  so  delicate,  indeed,  that  his 
pictures,  hidden  away  in  the  corners  of  galleries  or  con- 
fronted with  more  robust  pictures,  seem  at  first  monoto- 
nous and  cold.  It  is  not  until,  as  Bode  points  out,  they 
are  isolated  in  a  good  light  that  their  merit  becomes  ap- 
parent. This  famous  expert  also  compares  the  method 
of  Van  der  Neer's  moonlight  scenes  with  that  of  Rem- 
brandt's interiors.  The  latter  projects  a  shaft  of  light 
into  the  hollow  gloom,  while  Van  der  Neer  represents  a 
concavity  of  light,  the  luminosity  of  which  is  heightened 
by  the  shadows.  His  method,  in  fact,  is  the  exact  reverse 
of  Renibrandt's. 

Two  memorable  examples  of  his  moonlight  scenes  ap- 
pear in  the  Berlin  Gallery,  where  one  is  impressively 
somber,  while  the  other  is  dramatically  stirred  by  the 
yellow  and  red  flare  and  turbid  smoke  from  a  burning 
D76  3 


|| 


LANDSCAPE 

house,  and  figures  in  movement  agitate  the  foreground. 
Others  are  in  the  National  Gallery  and  in  the  Imperial 
Art  Museum  at  Vienna.  The  example  in  the  latter 
shows  a  darkened  canal,  with  a  boat,  stretching  back  to 
a  town  that  broods  beneath  a  sky  in  which  the  moon 
rides  at  full,  surrounded  by  fleecy  clouds. 

In  the  Vienna  Gallery  also  is  an  example  of  one  of  his 
winter  scenes,  others  appearing  in  the  National  Gallery 
and  in  the  Wallace  Collection.  In  these  the  artist  in- 
dulges in  a  freer  and  livelier  use  of  color,  though  the  ani- 
mation of  the  ground  and  its  group  of  figures  does  not 
interfere  with  the  delicate  observation  and  sensitive  feel- 
ing, that  still  regulate  his  treatment  of  the  skies.  It  is 
on  this  that  Van  der  Neer,  like  all  painters  of  poetic 
moods,  relies  chiefly  for  expression. 

In  one  of  Van  der  Neer's  landscapes  in  the  National 
Gallery,  cattle  were  painted  by  Cuyp.  The  reminder 
may  serve  at  this  point  of  our  story  for  an  introduction 
to  the  important  part  played  in  Holland  landscape  by 
those  artists  who  enlivened  it  with  figures  and  animals. 


LANDSCAPE  WITH  FIGURES  AND  ANIMALS 

The  popularity  of  this  branch  of  painting  in  the  seven- 
teenth century  can  be  explained  by  its  affinity  to  genre 
painting.  It  is  but  a  step  from  depicting  a  party  of 
people  in  an  interior  to  showing  them  engaged  in  some 
sport  or  occupation  in  the  open  air.  The  same  tendency 
to  depict  the  incidents  of  Dutch  life,  or  to  use  such 
incidents  as  the  theme  of  a  pictorial  presentation,  ap- 
13  [-177';] 


THE  STORY  OF  DUTCH  PAINTING 

pears  in  both ;  and  some  of  the  artists  of  this  out-of-door 
genre,  Wouwerman,  Adriaen  van  de  Velde,  Cuyp,  and 
Berchem,  reached  proficiency  that  compares  favorably 
with  the  masterpieces  of  interior  genre.  As  for  the  fond- 
ness for  depicting  cattle,  we  may  recollect  how  Troyon, 
after  visiting  Holland,  turned  from  pure  landscape  to 
cattle  studies,  while  every  observant  visitor  to  that  coun- 
try has  enjoyed  the  spots  of  rich  color  which  the  grazing 
herds  make  in  the  far  stretches  of  green  pasture.  They 
form  one  of  the  notable  features  of  the  Holland  land- 
scape, and  it  would  have  been  surprising  if  the  painters, 
so  intent  on  the  study  of  their  home  surroundings,  had 
overlooked  it.  The  signal  member  of  this  group  of 
painters  is  Paul  Potter. 


PAUL  POTTER 

Potter  is  the  prodigy  among  Dutch  artists.  At  the  age 
of  twenty-two  he  produced  a  masterpiece  that,  despite 
its  shortcomings,  has  compelled  the  admiration  of  the 
world.  This  is  a  work  of  trenchant,  even  brutal  force, 
while  the  majoritj'-  of  his  work,  especially  in  his  later 
years,  wins  by  its  charm  of  persuasiveness.  He  is  per- 
sonally known  to  us  through  the  beautiful  portrait  by 
Van  der  Heist.  It  was  painted  in  the  year  of  Potter's 
death,  and  shows  him  a  man  of  distinguished  mien,  with 
soft  auburn  hair  curling  upon  his  shoulders,  and  a  face 
that  is  marked  by  a  high  forehead,  heav\^-lidded  eyes,  a 
strong  nose,  and  full,  impulsive  lips ;  a  face  upon  which 
consimiption  has  set  the  impress  of  fell  refinement. 

[178:] 


^1 


LANDSCAPE 

The  son  of  an  obscure  painter,  Potter  was  born  at 
Enkhuizen  in  1625.  From  '164<6  to  1648  he  resided  at 
Delft,  where  his  masterpiece.  The  Young  Bull  of  the 
Hague  Gallery,  was  painted.  In  1649  he  moved  to  The 
Hague  and  married  the  daughter  of  an  architect,  Adri- 
ana  Balckeneijnde.  In  1652  he  moved  to  Amsterdam 
and  continued  to  reside  there  until  his  death  in  1654. 

The  Young  Bull  is  an  amazing  achievement  of  self- 
discipline  and  almost  passionate  pursuit  of  truth.  It 
suggests  the  attitude  of  the  painter  to  have  been  that 
once  and  for  all  he  would  master  the  creature's  appear- 
ance. He  set  himself  a  great  task  of  prolonged  endur- 
ance and  has  carried  it  through  to  an  extraordinary 
realization.  The  character  of  the  beast,  as  it  shows  itself 
to  the  eye;  the  incidents  of  its  form  and  carriage;  the 
glossy  pelt  with  its  actual  surface  of  hair,  the  brilliant 
eye,  the  damp  nozzle— every  detail  is  of  life.  Having 
completed  this  study,  which  established  for  himself 
the  knowledge  and  skill  he  had  sought  and  became 
a  model  for  the  instruction  of  other  artists,  he  filled 
in  the  rest  of  the  canvas  in  a  somewhat  perfunctory 
manner.  The  sky  has  good  quality,  but  remains  a 
background  in  the  rear  of  the  composition;  the  in- 
termediate landscape,  overspread  effectively  with  a 
pale  light,  does  not  maintain  its  proper  plane.  The 
beasts  in  the  foreground  are  as  hard  as  wood,  the  de- 
tails of  the  tree  niggling,  and  the  figure  of  the  man  ill 
drawn  and  tamely  comprehended.  In  fact,  it  is  not  as  a 
picture  that  the  canvas  is  remarkable,  but  for  its  con- 
summately realistic  treatment  of  the  one  overpowering 
detail. 

[179] 


THE  STORY  OF  DUTCH  PAINTING 

Other  large  canvases,  also  products  of  the  artist's  ex- 
treme youth,  are  the  Bear  Hunt  of  the  Rijks  ^luseum 
and  the  Boar  Hunt  in  the  Carstanjen  Collection  of  the 
Berhn  Gallery.  They  are  open  to  the  same  general 
criticism,  without  the  wonderful  exception.  They  are 
evidences  of  a  young  man's  exuberant  indiscretion, 
though  he  was  probably  induced  to  it  by  the  high  value 
that  clients  set  upon  such  pictures.  ^leanwhile,  as  early 
as  1646,  that  is  to  say,  when  he  was  twenty-one,  he  was 
settling  down  to  the  smaller  pictures,  artistically  felt  and 
rendered,  that  mark  the  end  of  his  career.  One  of  the 
earliest  of  these,  dated  1648,  is  the  scene  of  Cattle  and 
Bathers,  in  the  Hague  Gallery ;  finely  composed  and  full 
of  happy  observation  of  country  life,  but  somewhat  hard 
in  texture.  Yet  the  previous  year  had  produced  the 
Horses  at  the  Door  of  a  Cottage  of  the  Louvre,  where 
the  scene  is  enveloped  in  the  soft  half-light  of  a  glo^ving 
evening  sky.  Another  beautiful  evening  scene  is  Land- 
scape with  Cattle  of  the  National  Gallery. 


PHILIPS  WOUWERMAN 

This  charmingly  original  and  versatile  artist,  whose 
works  abound  in  public  and  private  collections,  was  born 
in  Haarlem  in  1619  and  died  there  in  1668.  He  studied 
landscape  with  Jan  Wynants,  but  the  teacher  who  set 
the  tenor  of  his  career  was  Frans  Hals.  It  was  from  the 
latter  that  he  derived  his  skill  in  handling  figures,  com- 
posing them  in  groups,  placing  them  in  space,  and  ren- 
[180] 


LANDSCAPE 

dering  them  with  fluency  and  vitality  of  brushwork: 
and  the  principles  thus  acquired  were  applied  by  him 
also  to  the  treatment  of  the  landscape.  On  his  own  part 
he  brought  to  his  work  a  singularlj^  alert  observation, 
that  was  happy  in  hitting  upon  the  fugitive  and  acci- 
dental aspects  of  a  scene,  and  a  fancy  that  invests  his 
subject  with  a  lyrical  grace. 

His  fecundity  was  such  that  it  is  estimated  he  left 
some  seven  hundred  examples,  which  may  be  divided 
into  those  of  his  early  period,  which  extended  through 
the  forties,  and  those  of  his  maturity,  which  belong  to  the 
fifties  and  early  sixties.  He  was  brought  up  during  the 
vicissitudes  of  the  Thirty  Years'  War,  and  the  impres- 
sions of  soldiering  suggested  many  of  his  subjects  of 
cavalry,  skirmishing,  on  the  march,  or  halting  at  an  inn. 
Elsewhere  it  is  hunting  parties,  riding  parties,  gay  cav- 
alcades of  ladies  and  gentlemen;  then,  again,  scenes  of 
farming  life:  the  bringing  home  of  hay,  watering  of 
horses,  scenes  in  the  smithy— an  inexhaustible  array  of 
incidents  in  which  figure  men  and  women  and  their 
friends,  the  horse  and  dog.  With  such  unusual  produc- 
tivity it  is  not  strange  that  some  of  his  pictures  suffered 
by  haste  of  execution.  This  is  especially  ti-ue  of  his 
latest  pictures,  where  the  shadows  have  come  through 
and  destroyed  the  brilliance  of  the  colors.  For,  though 
Wouwerman  was  not  a  colorist,  he  was  an  adept  at  sug- 
gesting the  gaiety  of  color,  and  his  best  pictures  are  bou- 
quets of  animated  brilliance. 


nisi: 


i 


THE  STORY  OF  DUTCH  PAINTING 


AELBERT  CUYP 

Son  of  a  prosperous  portrait-painter  of  Dordrecht, 
Aelbert  Cuyp  enjoyed  ample  means,  married  a  widow, 
rich  and  well  connected,  was  highly  esteemed  and  held 
public  offices  in  his  own  community,  and  throughout  the 
eighteenth  century  continued  to  be  prized  by  collectors 
as  the  "Dutch  Claude."  The  result  was  that  he  could 
paint  to  please  himself.  It  is  true  that  occasionally  he 
was  persuaded  to  paint  portraits  of  his  wife's  aristocratic 
connections,  some  on  horseback,  but  these  less  character- 
istic pictures  are  exceptions.  Living  far  from  the  cen- 
ters of  artists,  he  was  devoted  to  country  life,  making 
visits  occasionally  along  the  ^laas  to  Nimwegen  or  up 
the  Rhine  as  far  as  Bergen,  but  for  the  most  part  indulg- 
ing his  love  of  nature  in  the  neighborhood  around  his 
native  city.  The  happiness  of  the  man  and  the  artist's 
joy  in  the  life  of  simple  things— his  ample  means 
made  possible  the  simple  life — are  reflected  in  the  sunni- 
ness  of  his  landscapes,  and  in  the  big,  lazy,  comfortable 
kine  that  graze  and  bask  and  chew  the  cud  beside  slowly 
moving  waters  in  the  neighborhood  of  pleasant  home- 
steads, steeped  in  the  warmth  of  sunshine.  "Only  in  his 
own  home  on  the  lower  Maas,"  Avrites  the  modern  artist, 
Jan  Veth,  himself  a  native  of  Dordrecht,  "only  near 
Dordrecht,  could  he  find  this  happy  country,  where  a 
delicate  vapor  from  the  rich  marshy  lands  lies  over  the 
meadows,  which  in  the  morning  and  evening  hours  are 
covered  with  a  peculiar  golden  veil." 

His  best  pictures  are  in  private  collections  in  England 
and  Paris  and  in  the  National  Gallery,  the  Wallace  Col- 


LANDSCAPE 

lection,  and  the  galleries  of  St.  Petersburg  and  Buda- 
pest. They  number  nearly  fifty  that  can  be  regarded 
as-  masterpieces.  On  the  other  hand,  the  pictures  by 
which  he  is  represented  in  many  galleries  will  disappoint 
the  student  who  has  formed  a  high  expectation  of  this 
artist's  merit.  For  he  was  as  unequal  in  his  manner  as 
he  was  varied  in  his  choice  of  subjects,  which,  besides 
landscape  and  portraiture,  included  also  genre,  still-life, 
church  interiors,  and  historical  paintings. 

He  was  born  in  Dordrecht  in  1620  and  died  there  in 
1691.  Besides  the  instruction  that  he  received  from  his 
father,  he  is  supposed  to  have  been  influenced  by  Van 
Goyen,  for  his  early  work  shows  a  recollection  of  the 
latter's  grayish  tones. 


ADRIAEN  VAN  DE  VELDE 

In  the  Rijks  Museum  is  a  portrait  by  Adriaen  van  de 
Velde  that  represents  himself  and  his  family.  In  a  coun- 
try spot  they  have  alighted  from  their  carriage,  and 
while  a  groom  attends  to  the  handsome  horses,  the  artist 
and  his  young  wife,  a  little  child,  and  a  nurse  with  the 
baby  in  her  arms  are  grouped'  in  the  road.  The  artist 
is  of  refined  and  gracious  mien,  while  the  spirit  of  the 
whole  scene  breathes  prosperity  and  happiness.  The 
portrait  is  indicative  of  his  art,  of  the  gracious  fresh- 
ness, joyousness,  and  sweet  tranquillity  that  character- 
ize his  landscapes.  For,  though  he  painted  some  Biblical 
and  historical  subjects,  hrs  true  metier  was  landscape, 
with  the  ingratiating  addition  of  groups  of  figures  and 
animals.  So  highly  appreciated  was  his  gift  of  treating 
[11833 


THE  STORY  OF  DUTCH  PAINTING 

these  groups  that  many  of  the  landscape  artists  of  Am- 
sterdam employed  him  to  introduce  them  into  their  pic- 
tures. Hobbema  was  among  the  number,  as  may  be  seen 
in  that  artist's  picture,  The  Water  Mill,  owned  by  Mr. 
J.  Pierpont  ISIorgan,  where  the  cow  and  the  figures  of 
the  man  and  woman  are  by  Van  de  Velde. 

Born  in  Amsterdam  in  1636,  Adriaen  belonged  to  the 
Van  de  Velde  family  of  artists,  his  earliest  teacher  being 
his  father,  the  naval  painter,  Willem  the  Elder.  Then 
he  studied  with  Jan  W\Tiants  at  Haarlem  and  later  with 
Philips  Wouwerman.  He  was  also  influenced  by  Potter 
and  Nicolaes  Berchem,  perhaps  gaining  from  the  latter 
his  occasional  fondness  for  the  Italianized  kind  of  land- 
scape.   But  this  is  mere  supposition. 

Even  Berchem  (1620-1683)  is  only  supposed  to  have 
visited  Italy,  because  of  the  character  of  the  subjects  he 
represented.  All  that  is  definitely  known  about  him  is 
that  he  resided  in  Haarlem  and  Amsterdam.  His  treat- 
ment, however,  of  the  Italianized  landscape,  with  its 
goats  and  cows  and  peasants,  is  inferior  to  the  art  of 
Van  de  Velde.  It  charms  at  first  by  its  sunny  pictur- 
esqueness ;  but  it  is  discovered  by  degrees  to  be  a  product 
of  routine  and  mannerism.  A  studied  affectation  be- 
comes apparent  in  the  arrangement  of  the  groups,  and 
a  monotonous  reiteration  of  the  effects  of  light:  some 
object  always  placed  near  the  center  to  catch  the  chief 
illumination,  while  a  corresponding  formality  is  re- 
peated again  and  again  in  the  distribution  of  the  light 
and  shade. 

But  such  mechanics  of  picture-making  never  occur  in 
Van  de  Velde's  landscapes.  There  is  always  a  freshness 
[184] 


\\ 


LANDSCAPE 

of  vision,  characterized,  moreover,  by  delicate  observa- 
tion, that  puts  him  on  a  par  with  Wouwerman,  though 
the  sentiment  of  his  pictures  is  his  own. 


THE  NAVAL  AND  MARINE  PAINTERS 

It  has  already  been  remarked  that  the  naval  and  marine 
pictures  are  an  exception  to  the  general  rule  that  Dutch 
l^ainting  reflects  nothing  of  the  war  and  the  turbulence 
of  the  times.  The  headquarters  of  the  craft  was  naturally 
the  great  shipping  and  commercial  center,  Amsterdam. 
Here  in  the  early  part  of  the  seventeenth  century  lived 
Hendrick  Cornelisz  Vroom.  Born  in  Haarlem  in  1566, 
he  had,  previously  to  his  settling  down  in  the  Dutch  capi- 
tal, visited  France,  England,  and  Italj^  while  there  is 
good  reason  to  believe  that  shipwreck  had  increased  his 
experiences  by  enforced  sojourn  on  the  west  coast  of 
Africa.  He  makes  a  brave  showing  in  the  Rijks  Mu- 
seum with  records  of  Dutch  vessels  running  down 
Spanish  galleys  and  a  sea-fight  on  the  Haarlem  ^leer, 
and  always  his  signature  appears  proudly  on  a  pennon 
at  the  masthead  of  a  winning  ship. 

Simon  de  Vlieger,  a  native  of  Rotterdam,  where  he 
was  born  in  1693,  is  another  painter  of  stirring  sea- 
fights,  though  he  also  represents  the  peaceful,  side  of 
shipping;  witness  A  River  Scene,  in  the  Rijks  Museum, 
where  a  big-sailed  merchantman  from  the  Indies  lies 
near  some  little  boats  on  the  wind-flecked  water,  a  pic- 
ture full  of  bracing  suggestion. 

Lieve  Verschuier  (1630-1686),  also  a  native  of  Rot- 
[185] 


THE  STORY  OF  DUTCH  PAINTING 

terdam,  could  present  with  vigorous  effect  the  busy  as- 
pect of  the  harbor,  as  may  be  seen  at  the  Rijks  Museum 
in  his  Charles  II  Entering  Rotterdam,  24  May,  1660. 

But  the  greatest  of  this  stalwart  group  were  Willem 
van  de  Velde  the  Elder,  and  his  son,  Willem  the 
Younger.  Both  were  born  in  Leyden,  the  former  in 
1611,  the  younger  in  1633,  and,  after  a  period  in  Am- 
sterdam, settled  in  England,  where  the  father  died  in 
London,  1693,  and  the  son  at  Greenwich,  in  1707.  The 
characteristic  of  these  men  is  their  treatment  of  the  ship- 
ping ;  for  with  them,  as  with  the  others,  the  shipping  and 
the  sky  are  of  more  concern  than  the  water.  They  give 
the  great  galleons  and  bulky  Indiamen  the  personality 
almost  of  sentient  things :  creatures  of  power  and  impor- 
tance, swelling  with  the  pride  of  consequence. 


Cise] 


CHAPTER  XI 

VAN  GOYEN  AND  HOBBEMA 

THE  greatest  name  in  Holland  landscape,  second 
only  to  Rembrandt,  as  many  believe,  in  Dutch 
art,  is  Jacob  van  Ruisd-ael.  Of  the  comparative 
merits  of  the  other  two  leaders  of  Dutch  landscape,  opin- 
ions may  differ;  but  personally  I  give  the  palm  to  Van 
Goyen. 

Jan  Josephsz  van  Goyen,  to  give  his  full  name,  was 
born  in  Leyden,  in  1576.  He  was  the  pupil  of  several 
teachers,  including  Esaias  van  de  Velde.  At  about  the 
age  of  twenty-one  he  made  a  journey  to  France  in  the 
company  of  one  of  his  teachers.  Later  he  visited  Bel- 
gium and  the  northern  part  of  France,  the  sketches  of 
this  trip  being  still  preserved  in  the  Print  Collection  of 
Dresden.  Moreover,  from  the  subjects  of  his  pictures, 
it  is  evident  that  he  traveled  extensively  in  Holland. 
Toward  1634  he  settled  at  The  Hague,  continuing  to 
work  there  until  his  death  in  1656.  His  pictures  found 
ready  sale,  but  he  speculated  unfortunately  in  houses 
and  pictures  and  was  a  victim  of  that  Dutch  "South  Sea 
Bubble,"  the  speculative  mania  in  tulips.  Consequently 
he  died  poor. 

His  work  embraces  three  manners.    The  first,  which 

lasted  until  about  1630,  shows  a  tendency  to  brown,  with 

highly  colored  figures  in  which  notes  of  red  predominate. 

This  is  the  period  of  Esaias  van  de  Velde's  influence.    In 

iriSTl 


THE  STORY  OF  DUTCH  PAINTING 

the  second  period  he  begins  to  be  himself;  the  color  be- 
comes more  subdued,  the  skies  more  clear,  and  the  tonal- 
ity mingles  grayness  with  the  browns  or  becomes  green- 
ish. This  .lasts  for  some  years,  and  then  gradually  a  finer 
sense  of  picturesqueness  regulates  the  compositions ;  the 
technique  gains  in  breadth  and  authority;  the  tonality 
is  attained  almost  without  color. 

An  example  of  the  early  method  is  View  of  Dor- 
drecht, in  the  Hague  Gallery.  The  town  is  seen  in  the 
distance  across  an  expanse  of  water,  furred  by  the  wind; 
in  the  left  foreground,  the  harbor  bank  with  figures  and 
horses;  a  sail-boat  scudding  toward  the  right.  It  is  a 
gray  day,  translated  into  tones  of  brown ;  an  exquisitely 
impressionistic  vision  of  the  occasion  and  scene. 

A  very  remarkable  picture  of  the  transition  stage  be- 
tween the  first  and  second  periods  is  the  Landscape  (No. 
990)  of  the  Rijks  Museum,  illustrated  in  this  book.  In 
the  coat  of  the  man  on  the  left  the  vivid  spot  of  red  ap- 
pears ;  his  companion's  coat  is  blue ;  and  these  two  notes 
of  color  vibrate  sharply  against  the  drabbish  lowering 
sky.  The  ground  is  huffish  green  and  the  oaks  brown. 
It  is  a  picture  of  extraordinary  dramatic  effect. 

Two  fine  examj^les  of  the  artist's  middle  and  later 
period  are  in  the  Berlin  Gallery:  View  of  Arnheim 
(1646)  and  View  of  Nimwegen  (1649).  The  former 
shows  a  horseman  in  the  foregroimd  and  a  cart  farther 
back,  where  a  gleam  of  light  strikes,  while  the  distant 
town  is  in  shadow;  and  above  this  striking  contrast  is  a 
magnificent  height  of  sky  filled  with  .light  and  scattered 
with  a  few  loose,  well-constructed  clouds.  The  tonality 
is  composed  of  cream,  gray,  brown,  and  green.     The 

Ciss;] 


ii 


VAN  GOYEN  AND  HOBBEMA 

later  example  already  shows  the  prevalence  of  brown. 
The  architecture  is  constructed  in  tones  of  pale  brown 
and  buff;  the  water  in  front  is  grayish  white,  and  the 
ample  sky  admits  a  little  rose  amid  the  grayish  blue.  It 
is  a  picture  of  large  feeling,  and  yet  the  details  are  still 
drawn  in  with  that  wriggling  stroke  of  the  brown  brush 
which  characterizes  Van  Goyen's  work,  especially  in  the 
beginning  and  more  or  less  to  the  end.  It  exhibits  the 
feeling  of  one  who  is  an  engraver,  as  indeed  he  was;  it 
is  drawing  rather  than  painting.  The  result  is  that  some 
of  his  pictures  seem  more  than  a  trifle  niggling  in  their 
method.  On  the  other  hand,  while  he  never  gets  away 
from  it,  he  gets  the  better  of  it.  He  continues  to  model 
with  these  diminutive  curlicues  of  vermicelli,  now  brown, 
now  green,  but  the  method  disappears  in  the  big  impres- 
sion aroused  by  the  ensemble.  Other  notable  examples 
of  his  later  period  are  The  River  and  Banks  of  a  Canal, 
in  the  Louvre. 

But  in  the  final  analysis  it  is  not  the  manner  of  an 
artist  that  is  of  most  account,  but  the  quality  of  his  ap- 
peal. In  the  case  of  Van  Goyen  it  is  spirituel,  not  infre- 
quently expressive  of  spirituality.  Transmuted  by  his 
vision,  the  corporeality  of  the  scene  has  been  dissolved 
into  a  spiritual  impression.  It  is,  as  it  were,  a  mirage  of 
nature  that  is  offered  to  one's  imagination.  Van  Goyen 
lacks  at  once  the  height  and  depth  of  Jacob  van  Ruis- 
dael ;  his  moods  are  dreamy  rather  than  poignant,  and  he 
appeals  where  the  other  compels.  But  his  moods  are 
those  of  a  highly  rarefied  spirit,  that  seeks  to*  interpret 
the  bigness  and  the  subtlety  of  what  it  feels  by  means 
as  abstract  as  possible. 

cm] 


THE  STORY  OF  DUTCH  PAINTING 


MEINDERT  HOBBEMA 

HoBBEMA  is  the  very  contrary  to  Van  Goyen.  A  plain, 
practical,  matter-of-fact  man,  he  is  content  to  paint  what 
he  sees,  the  objective  appearances  of  the  landscape, 
viewed  through  the  unimaginative  medium  of  a  healthy 
naturalism.  He  was  as  little  addicted  to  moods  of  feel- 
ing as  to  dreams;  neither  curious  for  new  experiences 
nor  moved  to  artistic  ambition,  for,  having  found  a  mo- 
tive to  his  liking,  he  repeated  it  again  and  again  with 
slight  variations.  Gifted  with  a  strong  sense  of  form 
and  vnth  an  unusual  faculty  of  representing  it,  he 
learned  from  Jacob  van  Ruisdael  to  cultivate  both,  but 
was  too  phlegmatic  to  receive  inspiration  from  the  mas- 
ter's genius.  Now  and  then  he  rose  from  his  usual  level 
to  a  height  of  objective  grandeur;  but  for  the  most  part 
was  a  prosy  bourgeois,  pottering  round  the  parish. 

He  was  born  in  1638,  his  birthplace  being  variously 
assigned  to  Haarlem,  Koevorden,  and  the  village  of 
^Middelharnis,  though  it  may  have  been  Amsterdam, 
where  he  spent  his  life.  At  the  age  of  thirty  he  married 
a  maid-servant  four  years  his  senior.  She  had  been  in  a 
well-to-do  family,  and  through  the  influence  of  the  latter 
a  place  was  found  for  Hobbema  in  the  Wines-customs. 
It  was  sufficient  to  keep  him  from  actual  w^ant,  but  the 
fact  did  not  spur  him  on  to  artistic  effort.  He  painted, 
ifwould  seem,  only  when  he  "felt  like  it,"  which  was  not 
often,  for  the  number  of  his  pictures  is  for  a  Dutch  artist 
inconsiderable.  The  earliest  date  on  any  of  his  pictures 
is  1650;  the  last  that  can  be  assigned  ^^ith  certainty  is 
1670,  for  though  it  is  generally  accepted  that  the  date 
[190: 


p 


VAN  GOYEN  AND  HOBBEMA 

of  The  Avenue  of  Middclharnis,  in  the  National  Gal- 
lery, is  1689,  the  "8"  is  scarcely  decipherable.  If  this 
date  is  accepted,  it  leaves  the  last  twenty  years  of  his 
life,  for  he  died  in  1709,  unproductive.  No  reason  for 
this  is  known,  nor  whether  he  retained  his  official  posi- 
tion; the  only  fact  ascertained  being  that,  like  his  great 
master  and  so  many  other  Dutch  artists,  he  died  in  ex- 
treme poverty. 

Neglected  by  his  own  countr\Tnen,  his  best  works 
found  their  way  into  English  private  collections,  from 
which  they  are  beginning  to  emerge  into  the  hands  of 
American  collectors:  witness  The  Water  Mill,  known 
as  the  "Trevor  Landscape,"  and  the  Wooded  Land- 
scape, or  "Holford  Landscape,"  now  owned  by  IMr.  J. 
Pierpont  Morgan,  and  the  Wooded  Road,  in  the  pos- 
session of  Mrs.  William  L.  Elkins.  Meanwhile  Hob- 
bema's  masterpiece  is  The  Avenue  of  Middelharnis,  in 
the  National  Gallery,  while  the  Louvre  also  owns  a  fine 
example  in  The  Water  Mill,  and  the  popularity  and 
reputation  which  these  works  have  so  worthily  ob- 
tained has  led  to  an  overestimation  of  this  artist's  rank. 
He  has  even  been  classed  with  Van  Ruisdael.  On  the 
evidence  of  The  Avenue  this  is  intelligible,  but  unfortu- 
nately this  picture  is  a  unique  example.  The  other  pic- 
tures mentioned  above  are  also  examples  to  stir  enthu- 
siasm, but  they,  too,  are  exceptional.  You  will  not  find 
their  equals  anywhere  in  the  galleries  of  Europe.  On 
the  contrary,  those  which  you  do  find  are  dryly  objective 
reiterations  of  oak-trees,  water,  mills,  and  houses,  per- 
functorily seen  and  rendered.  They  inspire  little  en- 
thusiasm and  weary  b}^  repetition. 

The  Avenue,  on  the  contrary,  is  an  extraordinary  in- 
11191] 


THE  STORY  OF  DUTCH  PAINTING 

stance  of  a  moment's  heightened  vision  of  the  facts, 
boldly  grasped  and  carried  through  unerringly  to  a 
grand  conclusion.  Again,  in  the  other  pictures  named, 
especially  in  Mr.  Morgan's  The  Water  Mill,  there  is 
evidence  of  something  more  than  talent.  A  consummate 
knowledge  of  forms,  skill  of  compositional  construction, 
and  ability  to  create  an  ensemble  of  tonality  are  here 
reinforced  by  a  comprehension  of  the  feeling  of  the 
scene,  that  has  lifted  it  out  of  mere  representation  and 
enhanced  its  significance.  But  unfortunately  the  talent, 
transfigured  in  these  examples,  is,  in  the  general  run  of 
this  artist's  pictures,  squandered;  used  without  con- 
science and  permitted  to  drift  into  heartless  mannerism. 
The  fact  is  that,  judged  by  the  final  test  of  the  quality 
of  the  painter's  mental  and  artistic  attitude  toward  his 
subject,  the  majority  of  Hobbema's  pictures  rank  con- 
siderably below  par.  It  is  such  work  as  the  generality  of 
his,  which  makes  the  student  of  Dutch  art  sometimes 
pause  in  his  wanderings  through  the  galleries  and  ask 
himself  whether  there  is  not  a  great  deal  of  perfunctori- 
ness  and  tedious  iteration  among  these  old  masters  of 
Holland.  There  is,  and  the  fact  may  as  well  be  grasped 
first  as  last.  It  is  a  school  of  great  craftsmen,  who  some- 
times worked  indifferently,  punctuated  with  a  consider- 
able number  who  rise  conspicuously  above  their  fellows, 
but  among  these  exceptions,  save  on  rare  occasions, 
Hobbema  is  not  to  be  reckoned. 


1:1923 


Si 
< 
< 


CHAPTER  XII 

JACOB  VAN  RUISDAEL 

THERE  is  a* tendency  to  identify  Jacob  van  Riiis- 
dael  too  exclusively  with  his  pictures  of  moun- 
tainous scenery  and  rocky  waterfalls;  hence  to 
speak  of  him  as  a  romantic  painter.  But  the  true  Ruis- 
dael  must  be  sought  elsewhere.  These  romantic  sub- 
jects belong  to  his  latest  period,  in  the  seventies,,  when 
the  indifference  shown  by  the  public  to  his  own  manner 
had  induced  him  to  imitate  that  of  Everdingen's  Swed- 
ish landscape,  and  of  the  pictures  of  Swiss  scenery  by 
Roghman  and  Hackaert.  How  superior  he  was  to 
Everdingen,  we  have  already  noticed^  in  comparing  the 
examples  of  these  two  men  that  hang  close  together  in 
the  INIunich  Pinakothek.  Ruisdael's  knowledge  of  and 
feeling  for  form,  his  power  of  construction  not  only  of 
the  details  but  also  of  the  ensemble,  his  mastery  of  sky 
and  cloud  effects,  and,  above  all,  his  individual  and  pow- 
erful personality  combine  to  produce  in  these  scenes  of 
wild  solitude  with  their  plunging  cataracts  a  suggestion 
as  of  great  organ  music,  beside  which  Everdingen's  pic- 
tures have  only  the  tinkle  of  pictui'esqueness.  Yet  while 
Ruisdael,  as  was  to  be  expected,  was  superior  to  Ever- 
dingen, he  is  in  these  pictui'es  inferior  to  himself.  That 
his  health  was  failing  may  possibly  account  for  it;  that 

^See  page  175. 

"  [;i93] 


THE  STORY  OF  DUTCH  PAINTING 

he  painted  on  dark  grounds  and  the  black  has  in  many 
cases  come  through  and  dulled  the  resonance  of  the  col- 
ors, overdarkening  the  shadows,  is  another  reason;  but 
the  chief  one  is  to  be  found  in  his  changed  attitude.  He 
was  no  longer  drawing  his  inspiration  direct  from  na- 
ture itself. 

The  finer  examples  of  his  latest  style,  such  as  the 
Landscape  with  Waterfall  of  the  National  Gallery,  still 
exhibit  his  power  in  rendering  the  movement  and  the 
mass  of  water,  while  others  are  impregnated  with  that 
solitary  grandeur  which  was  a  characteristic  quality  of 
his  genius.  But  it  is  in  these  instances  touched  with 
moroseness,  with  something  possibly  of  the  sentimental 
sorrows  of  a  Werther.  The  great  artist,  whose  lonely 
bachelor  life  had  been  spent  in  meditating  upon  the  big- 
ness of  nature,  was  now  brooding  over  the  littleness  of 
the  world's  appreciation  of  himself;  introspection  had 
taken  the  place  of  that  large  looking  out  upon  the  world 
which  hitherto  had  been  the  habit  of  his  life.  These  ro- 
mantic subjects,  in  fact,  represent  the  waning  of  his 
powers;  for  the  complete  revelation  of  his  genius  we 
must  look  elsewhere,  beyond  the  invented  landscapes,  to 
those  in  which  nature  itself  has  inspired  the  mood  which 
dominates  its  interpretation. 

Meanwhile  let  us  glance  at  the  brief  facts  of  the  ar- 
tist's life.  He  was  born  in  Haarlem,  in  1628  or  1629, 
the  son  of  a  picture-frame  maker,  and  nephew  of  Salo- 
mon van  'Kuisdael,  who  was  probably  his  teacher.  At 
about  the  age  of  twenty  he  was  enrolled  in  the  Haarlem 
Guild  of  St,  Luke.  Some  years  later  he  settled  in  Am- 
sterdam and  was  admitted  to  the  rights  of  citizenship. 
1:194: 


JACOB  VAN  RUISDAEL 

Among  his  pupils  at  this  period  was  INIeindert  Hob- 
bema.  At  the  age  of  fifty-three  he  returned  to  his  native 
city,  broken  in  health  and  without  means  of  subsistence, 
and  through  the  intervention  of  some  friends  of  the 
JNIennonite  faith  was  given  refuge  in  the  poorhouse. 
Here  he  lingered  a  few  months  and  died  in  1682,  one 
more  example  among  so  many  in  the  story  of  Dutch 
painting  of  an  artist  dying  in  poverty.  This  is  the  ugly 
side  of  the  storj^  In  telling  it  we  have  tried  to  do  justice 
to  the  part  played  by  the  young  republic,  out  of  whose 
hard-Avon  nationality  a  great  school  of  artists  grew ;  but 
at  the  same  time  we  have  not  overlooked  the  quick  deca- 
dence of  national  and  social  spirit  that  followed  upon 
the  attainment  of  political  liberty.  And  of  this  sapping 
of  the  morality  of  the  people  the  indifference  paid  to 
her  great  artists  was  not  the  least  notable  symptom. 

Ruisdael's  youth  and  the  prime  of  his  manhood  were 
spent  in  studying  the  wooded  dunes,  open  country,  sea- 
shore, and  large  stretches  of  water  in  the  neighborhood 
of  Haarlem  and  Amsterdam.  These  supplied  the  sub- 
jects for  his  finest  and  most  characteristic  pictures,  while 
others  suggest  that  he  traveled  in  different  parts  of  Hol- 
land and  even  penetrated  into  the  neighboring  German 
principality  of  JNIiinster,  a  hilly  country  with  forests  and 
old  castles:  witness  Castle  Bentheim  of  the  Dresden 
Gallery.  The  dated  pictures  are  comparatively  rare  and 
belong  chiefly  to  Ruisdael's  earliest  period,  but  it  is  pos- 
sible to  assign  approximate  dates  to  many  later  ones 
through  examination  of  the  figures  which  were  intro- 
duced by  other  artists.  As  Bode  points  out,  those  to 
which   Adriaen   van   Ostade,    Nicolaes   Berchem,    and 


THE  STORY  OF  DUTCH  PAINTING 

Wouwerman  contributed  may  with  much  probabiHty  be 
assigned  to  the  Haarlem  period,  which  terminated  about 
1655;  on  the  other  hand,  when,  among  the  Amsterdam 
artists,  Adriaen  van  de  Velde  was  his  collaborator,  the 
picture  must  antedate  that  artist's  death  in  1672. 

Like  all  the  greatest  artists  of  landscape,  Ruisdael 
was  a  close  student  of  form,  his  drawings  and  etchings 
being  often  so  conscientious  in  treatment  as  to  suggest 
that  he  was  something  of  a  botanist.  At  any  rate,  few 
men  have  shown  a  more  thorough  knowledge  of  trees, 
their  character  of  bulk  and  build,  their  branch-growths 
and  manner  of  leafage,  while  the  same  constructive  sense 
appears  in  his  delineation  of  ground,  rocks,  water,  and 
in  that  final  test  of  great  landscape-painting,  the  com- 
prehension and  rendering  of  skies.  In  his  earlier  work 
this  preoccupation  with  form  results  in  an  excess  of  de- 
tail and  a  considerable  tightness  and  hardness  of  method, 
as  may  be  observed  in  the  little  Village  in  the  Wood  of 
the  Dresden  Gallery. 

Later  his  works  acquire  breadth;  details  are  treated 
more  freely  and  are  less  obtrusive;  the  feeling  for  en- 
semble is  more  complete.  And  corresponding  with  this 
ampler  motive  is  a  clearer  eye  for  the  local  colors,  a 
richer  and  fuller  tonality.  Then,  by  degrees,  the  true 
Ruisdael  discovers  himself.  As  we  know  him  in  the 
finest  works  of  the  Amsterdam  period,  his  genius  is  de- 
clared in  the  amplitude  of  his  conception  of  nature.  We 
are  in  the  presence  of  one  who  has  comprehended  the 
vastness  of  its  suggestion,  and  entered  into  it,  merging 
therein  the  pettiness  of  personaUty.  At  these  great  mo- 
ments it  would  be  hard  to  mention  a  landscape-painter 
i:i96] 


JACOB  VAN  RUISDAEL 

whose  outlook  is  larger,  freer,  and  more  impersonal  than 
Ruisdael's,  whose  attitude  is  more  truly  epic;  usually 
with  an  ample  expression  of  serene  benignity,  but,  even 
when  there  is  stir  of  conflict,  with  an  all-embracing 
vision  that  merges  the  accidental  in  the  universal. 

In  the  attainment  of  this  magnificent  composure  it 
is  the  skies  that  play  the  greatest  part.  They  occupy  a 
large,  often  the  larger,  portion  of  the  canvas.  They  are 
not  only  expanses  of  light,  contrasted  with  the  darker 
tones  of  the  ground,  as  in  the  case  of  most  Holland  land- 
scapes, but  are  pervaded  with  vibrating  atmosphere  that, 
while  it  penetrates  to  the  front,  seems  to  communicate 
with  endless  space.  To  this  element  of  universal  sug- 
gestion is  added  the  stimulus  of  the  poised  or  drifting 
cloud-forms.  They  are  not  merely  shapes  of  vapor,  but 
have  bulk  and  weight  and  carrying  power.  They  are  to 
the  fluid  mass  of  the  sky  what  the  wave  is  to  the  ocean : 
a  manifestation  of  its  boundless  energies.  While  to  him 
the  ground  and  its  forms  of  tree  and  rock  or  dune  are 
symbols  of  stability  and  static  force,  the  sky  is  symbol  of 
dynamic  energy  unbounded.  It  is  because  Ruisdael  thus 
felt  and  could  interpret  the  symbolism  of  nature  that  his 
finest  landscapes  and  marines  create  and  maintain  so 
profound  an  impression. 

Among  the  pictures  prior  to  1655  is  View  of  Haarlem 
from  the  Hill  of  Overveen,  a  subject  by  which  Ruis- 
dael seems  to  have  trained  and  disciplined  himself,  for 
he  often  repeated  it.  There  are  said  to  be  twenty  exam- 
ples, some  of  which  are  in  the  galleries  of  The  Hague 
and  Berlin,  in  the  Rijks  Museum,  and  used  to  be  in- 
cluded in  the  Holford  and  Kann  collections.    From  the 

cm] 


THE  STORY  OF  DUTCH  PAINTING 

elevation  in  the  foreground  one  looks  down  and  across 
a  stretch  of  level  country,  broken  up  with  trees  and 
houses  and  a  field  where  strips  of  linen  are  bleaching,  to 
the  city,  over  which  rises  the  mass  of  the  Groote  Kerk, 
St.  Bavon.  But  two  thirds  of  the  canvas  is  given  to  the 
sky.  The  picture  presents  an  elaborate  study  in  the 
art  of  ground-  and  sky-construction,  in  the  difficult  dif- 
ferentiation of  the  planes  of  a  level  country,  and  in  build- 
ing the  sky's  volume  and  depth.  Already  there  are  dis- 
tance and  spaciousness,  but  as  yet  little  expression,  while, 
in  the  case  of  the  Berlin  example  especially,  the  tech- 
nique is  still  a  trifle  hard  and  dry. 

But,  without  attempting  any  chronological  order, 
turn  to  The  Beach  at  the  Hague  Gallery,  a  replica  of 
which,  Shore  at  Scheveningen,  is  in  the  National  Gal- 
lery, while  there  are  others  elsewhere.  A  cliff  projects 
on  the  right;  otherwise  the  water,  dotted  with  wading 
figures  and  sail-boats,  extends  clear  back  from  the  front 
to  a  low  horizon,  above  which  is  a  sky  piled  and  scattered 
with  loose,  buoyant  clouds.  There  is  wind  in  them,  and 
it  ruffles  the  long  reaches  of  waves  that  glide  in  over  the 
sand.  Here  is  freedom  not  only  of  brushwork  but  of 
imagination,  which  has  been  stirred  by  the  sense  of  vast- 
ness  and  of  movement.  The  sea  itself  spreads  far  and 
is  alive  with  briskness,  but  in  the  endless  distance  of  the 
sky  the  clouds  are  moving  grandly.  This  picture  al- 
ready gives  the  clue  to  Ruisdael's  fully  developed  genius. 
It  prefigures  his  capacity  to  comprehend  the  big  in  na- 
ture; to  go  out  to  it  and  mingle  with  it;  to  find  it,  not  in 
stupendous  spectacles,  but  in  the  sense  of  vastness  that 
even  familiar  scenes  may  convey  to  one  who  realizes  and 


JACOB  VAN  RUISDAEL 

feels  the  bigness  in  nature  everywhere  about  us.  For 
compare  The  Mill  near  Wyh-hy-Duurstede ,  Ruisdael's 
masterpiece  in  the  Rijks  Museum.  Familiar  enough  in 
Holland  are  the  ingredients  of  this  scene:  gray  water, 
gray  lowering  sky,  olive-green,  brown,  and  pale-buff 
ground  and  trees,  a  gleam  of  light  on  the  body  of  the 
mill;  yet  with  what  a  majesty  of  conception  they  are 
clothed!  Everything  is  heightened  and  made  poign- 
antly compelling  by  a  beautiful,  tremendous  dignity. 

Nor  was  it  only  under  aspects  of  stirring  movement 
that  Ruisdael  found  bigness.  He  could  find  it  in  calm : 
witness  The  Swamp  in  the  Wood,  in  St.  Petersburg,  and 
the  Oah  Wood  of  the  Berlin  Gallery.  In  front,  pale 
amber-green  lily-pads,  floating  on  depths  of  olive-green 
water,  in  the  mingled  light  and  shade  of  rich,  somber 
golden-green  and  ruddy  foliage;  distant  water  and 
dunes,  and  over  all  a  sky  in  which  balloons  of  clouds 
hang  drowsily.  It  recalls  another  masterpiece,  this  time 
of  the  Imperial  Art-History  Museum,  Vienna,  The  Big 
Wood.  Again  a  clump  of  oaks  and  a  shattered  silver 
birch,  massed  high  and  wide  against  a  sky  of  wonderful 
luminosity.  Everything  is  simplicity,  itself ,  yet  expresses 
magisterial  authority.  The  amplitude  of  conception  on 
this  occasion  has  no  trace  of  stress  or  poignancy,  nor  is 
it  one  of  calm;  it  is  buoyant  with  a  glorious  joyousness. 

Another  remarkable  example,  heightened  into  gran- 
deur by  impulse  of  the  imagination,  is  the  Landscape 
with  Fence,  in  the  Vienna  Academy:  a  bit  of  sloping 
ground  vdth  some  wooden  sheep-cotes  and  a  willow.  But 
the  light  from  a  dull-gray  slaty  sky  pales  upon  the  wil- 
low and  gleams  with  a  strange  whiteness  on  the  boards 


THE  STORY  OF  DUTCH  PAINTING 

of  the  fence.  The  picture,  moreover,  is  painted  with 
unerring  mastery  of  form  and  splendid  fluency,  which, 
combined  with  its  startHng  arrangement  of  Hght,  pro- 
duces an  effect  of  extraordinary  impressiveness. 

B}^  a  method  of  hghting,  somewhat  similar,  a  mood 
of  profound  and  bitter  melancholy  has  been  interpreted 
in  The  Jewish  Cemetery  of  the  Dresden  Gallery.  In 
the  murk  of  the  distance  a  ruin  glooms  gauntly  under 
a  heavy  purplish  slaty  sky,  where  a  faint  rainbow  shows 
amid  the  turbid  clouds.  In  the  foreground  a  blasted 
tree-trunk  cuts  white  against  a  dull  mass  of  trees;  but 
the  brightest  light,  pallid  and  cold,  is  concentrated  upon 
one  of  a  group  of  tombs.  The  stillness  is  broken  by  a 
stream  that  shatters  itself  on  the  stones  and  rushes  on. 
Is  this  solemn  picture  an  allegory  of  Ruisdael's  o^vn 
darkened  life  and  its  approaching  end?  Possibly,  for  his 
signature,  undated,  appears  upon  a  tombstone  on  the 
left. 

The  examples  quoted  above  are  fairly  representative 
of  an  artist  who  handled  the  prose  of  nature  with  so 
large  a  sense  of  its  significance  that  he  lifts  it  up  to 
poetry,  of  epic  and  occasionally  tragic  grandeur.  For 
Ruisdael,  like  Rembrandt,  saw  into  the  soul  of  facts. 
That  in  a  period  of  fifty  years  or  thereabouts  a  school 
of  artists  could  be  formed,  wherein  there  are  so  many 
excellent  craftsmen,  not  a  few  masters  of  technique  and 
expression,  and  two  great  masters  of  the  soul,  is  a  mar- 
velous record.  Such  was  Holland's  legacy  of  the  seven- 
teenth century  to  the  civilization  of  the  modern  world. 


1:200] 


INDEX 


INDEX 


Abraham  Receiving  the  Angels    [Bol],   154 

Actor's  instinct  in  art,  75 

Adoration  of  the  Shepherds  [Rembrandt], 
103,  159 

Aertz,  Pieter,  19;  studied  at  Amsterdam, 
43 

Albert,  Archduke,  45 

Altman,  Mr.  B.,  owner  of  The  Sleeping 
Girl   [Vermeer],   136 

Alva,  Duke  of,  22,  23,  46 

Amsterdam,  school  of  painting,  38,  43; 
artists  born  there:  Aertz,  107;  Eeck- 
hout,  158;  De  Keyser,  165;  Koninck, 
172 ;  Adriaen  van  de  Velde,  184 ; 
school  of:  Scovel.  16;  Rembrandt,  73; 
Maes,  115;  Metsu,  117;  Fabritius, 
157;  Eeckhout,  158;  De  Gelder,  160; 
De  Keyser,  165:  Koninck,  170;  Hob- 
bema,  190;  residence  of:  Rembrandt, 
76;  Aertz,  107;  Van  Ostade,  109; 
Lairesse,  125 ;  De  Keyser,  165 ; 
Seghers,  170;  Koninck,  170;  Van  der 
Neer,  176:  Potter,  179:  Van  de  Velde, 
Willem,  Elder  and  Younger,  186;  Van 
de  Velde,  Adriaen,  184;  Berchem, 
184;  Hobbema,  190;  Ruisdael,  Jacob, 
194 

Angel  and  the  Shepherds    [Flinck],   152 

Antwerp,  glory  of,  7 ;  "Image-Breaking" 
at,  22 ;  school  of  painting,  22 ;  birth- 
place of  Hals,    50 

Antwerp  Museum,  Day  of  Judgment  [Van 
Orley],   15 

Art:  the  need  of  the  people,  4;  French 
at  time  of  Revolution,  5 ;  imitation 
death  of  national  art,  6;  decline  of 
Dutch  in  eighteenth  century,  6 ;  af- 
fected by  imperialism,  influenced  by 
Church,  11 ;  by  Renaissance,  12 ;  con- 
dition at  abdication  of  Charles  V,  14; 
realism  of  Dutch,  27;  moral  and  scien- 
tific character  of,  28 ;  commencement 
of  great  period  of,  29;  still-life,  31; 
portraiture,  49 ;  beauty  of  inanimate 
things,  59;  democratic  ideal  of  Dutch, 
72 ;  Rembrandt's  compared  to  Greek, 
72;  actor's  instinct  shown  by  painters, 
75 ;  abstract  in,  94 ;  decorative,  94 ; 
Barbizon,    171 

Art-History  Museum,  Vienna.     See  Vienna 

Artist  in  his  Studio   [Vermeer],   140 

Asking  a  Blessing   [Maes],   114 

Asselyn,  Jan,  44:   Enraged  Swan,  The,  44 

Avenue  of  Middelharnis   [Hobbema],  191 


B 

Bakhuysen,  Ludolf,  44 

Balckeneijnde,   Adriana,  wife  of  Paul 
Potter,    179 

Bank  of  a  Canal  [Van  Goyen],  188 

Banquet  of  the  Civic  Guard    [Van  der 
Heist],   164 

Banquet  of  the  Officers  of  the  Archers  of 
St.  Andrew   [Hals],  66 

Banquet  of  the  Officers  of  the  Archers  of 
St.  George   [Hals],  64 

Banquet  of  the  Officers  of  the  Archers  of 
St.  George   [Hals],   65 

Barbizon   artists,   171 

Bartholdi's  Statue  of  Liberty,  87 

Beach,  The   [.Tacob  van  Ruisdael],  198 

Bear  Hunt,  The   [Potter],   180 

Bega,  Cornelis,   110 

"Beggars,  The,"  21 

"Beggars  of  the  Sea,"  23 

Berchem,  Nicolaes,  30,   39,  43,   174.   178, 
184,    195 

Berlaymont,  21 

Berlin:  pictures  in  gallery:  St.  Jerome  in 
a  Cave,  Rembrandt,  76;  Portrait  of 
Himself,  Rembrandt,  78;  Portrait  of 
Rendrickje  Staff  eU,  Rembrandt,  89; 
Old  Woman  Peeling  Apples,  Maes, 
115;  Portrait  of  Old  Woman,  Metsu, 
118;  Family  Geelvink,  Metsu,  120; 
The  Mother,  De  Hooch,  121;  The  Con- 
cert, Terborch,  130;  Diana  with  her 
Nymphs,  Vermeer,  135 ;  Lady  with  a 
Pearl  Necklace,  Vermeer,  138;  The 
Christening  Party.  Steen,  146;  Por- 
trait of  a  Young  Woman,  Flinck,  153 ; 
A  Man  Praying,  Fabritius,  158;  Rais- 
ing of  Jairus's  Daughter,  Presentation 
of  Christ  in  the  Temple,  Mercury  and 
Argus,  Eeckhout,  159;  Old  Lady  and 
her  Daughters,  Old  Man  and  his  Sons, 
De  Keyser,  166 ;  Landscape  and  Cat- 
tle, Koninck,  173;  Boar  Hunt,  Potter, 
180;  View  of  Arnheim,  View  of  Nim- 
icegen.  Van  Goyen,  188;  View  of 
Haarlem  from  the  Dunes,  Jacob  van 
Ruisdael,   197 

Biblical  pictures,  74,  103-105,  150;  by 
Steen,  148;  Flinck,  151;  Fabritius, 
156:  Bol,  163;  Eeckhout,  158;  De 
Gelder,   160;  Van  de  Velde,   183 

Big  Wood,  The  [Jacob  van  Ruisdael],  199 

Blacksmith,   The    [Metsu],    117 

Boar  Hunt,  The   [Potter],    180 

Bode,  W.,  quoted,  54,114,117,134,176-195 


[203] 


INDEX 


Bol,  Ferdinand,  30;  school,  43;  apprecia- 
tion, 153;  Jacob  Presented  to  Pharaoh, 
Rest  of  the  Holy  Family,  Abraham  Re- 
ceiving the  Angels,  Salome  Dancing 
before  Herod,  154;  Portrait  of  a  Girl, 
Portraits  in  the  Pinakothek,   155 

Boston  Museum,  pictures  in:  An  Interior, 
De  Hooch,   122 

Both,  Johannes,  30 

Boucher,   5 

Bray,  Jan  de,  19 

Bray,  Salomon  de,  39,   167 

Brederode,  feast  at,  21 

Bredius,  Dr.,  136;   estimate  of  Steen,  142 

Brueghel,  Pieter  the   Elder,  107 

Brunswick  Gallery,  pictures  in:  The  Co- 
quette, Vermeer,  140;  Portrait.  E'eck- 
hout,  160;  Oak  Wood,  Jacob  van 
Ruisdael,    199 

Brussels,  scene  of  abdication  of  Charles 
V,  7;  ancient  grandeur  of,  7;  treaty  of 
1577  signed  at,  23 

Budapest,  Fine  Arts  Museum,  pictures  in : 
Portrait  of  a  Man.  Maes,  116;  Portrait 
of  a  Lady.  Vermeer,  141;  Esther  and 
Mordecai.  De  Gelder,  161;  Portrait  of 
a  Woman,  De  Keyser,  166;  Portrait 
of  a  Young  Lady,  Moreelse,  168; 
Landscape.  Guyp,  183 

Burial,  The  [Rembrandt],  103 


Cassel  Gallery,  picture  in:  Twelfth  Night, 

Steen,   146 
Castle  Bentheim   [Jacob  van  Ruisdael], 

195 
Cattle  and  Bathers  [Potter],  186 
Cavalier  in  a  Shop   [Van  Mieris],  124 
Charles    V,    abdication,     3-8:     birth     and 

education,  7 ;  rule  in  the  Netherlands,  7 
Chiaroscuro,  Rembrandt's,   79 
Christ  with  the  Doctors    [Eeckhout],   159 
Christening  Party,  The   [Steen],    146 
Church,  influence  of,  on  art,   11;   attempt 

to    fasten    Catholic    on    Holland,    20; 

schism  in  Protestant.  37 
Codde,  Pieter,   126 
Concert,  The   [Terborch],  136 
Cook,  The   [Vermeer],   137 
Coquette,  The   [Vermeer],   139 
Count  of  Orange,  William,  8 
Cradle,  The  [Maes],  115 
Craftsmanship,  Dutch  love  of,  32 
Cuyp,  Aelbert,  30,   178;  appreciation,   182 
Czernin  Gallery,  Vienna,  pictures  in:   The 

Artist    in    his    Studio,    Vermeer,     140; 

The    Company    of    Captain    Cloeck,    De 

Keyser,   166 


Descent  from  the  Cross   [Rembrandt],  103 
Diana  and  her  Nymphs    [Vermeer],    135 
Diana  at  her  Toilet  [Vermeer],   134 
Disciples  at  Emmaus   [Steen],   148 
Doctor   Visiting  a   Young   Woman    [Steen], 

147 
Doctor's  Visit,  The  [Steen],  147 
Dordrecht,  School  of,  38,  43;  De  Gelder, 
160;  Cuyp,  182;  residence  of  Cujt), 
Hoogstraten,  43  ;  of  De  Gelder,  Potter, 
179 
Dort,  assembly  of  Estates,  23 
Dou,  Gerard,"  30;  school,  40;  life,  111; 
appreciation.  111;  The  Young  Mother, 
103;  Old  Woman  Saying  Grace,  103; 
The  Dropsical  Woman.  112;  Lady  at 
her  Toilet.  112;  Old  Woman  who  has 
Lo.ft  her  Thread,  112;  Young  Man  and 
Girl  in  a  Cellar,  113;  Night  School, 
113 
Dresden  Gallery:  Old  Woman  who  has 
Lost  her  Thread,  Dou,  112;  Young 
Man  and  Girl  in  a  Cellar,  Still-life, 
Portrait  of  Himself,  Dou.  113;  Man 
and  Woman  Selling  Poultry,  Lovers  at 
Breakfast,  Metsu,  118:  A  Lady  at  her 
Clavichord,  Netscher,  125;  Officer  Writ- 
ing a  Letter,  Lady  Washing  her 
Hands,  Terborch,  130;  The  Proposal, 
Vermeer,  134;  The  Marriage  at  Cana, 
The  Expvhion  of  Hagar,  Steen,  148; 
David  Handing  the  Letter  to  Uriah, 
Flinck,  151;  Jacob  PreseyUed  to  Pha- 
raoh, Bol,  153;  Rest  of  the  Holy  Fam- 
ily, Bol,  154;  Presentation  of  Christ 
in  the  Temple,  An  Important  Docu- 
ment, Portrait  of  a  Halberdier,  De 
Gelder,  160;  Dutch  Landscape,  Ko- 
ninck,  173;  Castle  Bentheim,  Jacob 
van  Ruisdael,  195;  Village  in  the 
Wood,  Jacob  van  Ruisdael,  196; 
Jewish  Cemetery,  Jacob  van  Ruisdael, 
200 
Dropsical  Woman,  The  [Dou],  112 
Dunes,  Valley  of  the  Rhine  near  Arnheim 

[Koninck],  173 
Diirer,  Albrecht,  15 
Dusart,  Cornelis,   110 

Dutch,  pioneers   of  modern   era,   3 ;    inde- 
pendence   of,     declared,     24;     defeated 
Spain   by   sea,    26;    love   of   genre,    30, 
31;     advance     in     commerce,     science, 
agriculture,    and   the   crafts,    36;    politi- 
cal   and   religious   dissensions,    37;    art 
one    of    portraiture,    49;     character    of 
genre,    107-109;    change   of   conditions 
of  society,    124;   society  pictures,    126; 
landscape,    170;    with    cattle,    177;    oc- 
casional tediousness  of  landscapes,  192 
Dutch  Courtyard  [De  Hooch],  122 
Dutch  Housewife   [Maes],   115 
Duyster,  Willem  Cornelisz,  121,   126 


David  Handing  the  Letter  to   Uriah 
[Flinck],   151 

Day  of  Judgment   [Van  Orley],   15 

Decapitation  of  St.  John  the  Baptist  [Fa- 
britius],   157 

Delft,  School  of,  38,  41;  born  in:  Ver- 
meer. 132;  studied  at:  Vermeer,  132; 
residence  in :  Vermeer,  132 ;  Steen, 
144;  Pabritius,   156 


Eeckhout,  Gerbrandt  van  den,  30;  school, 
43,  151;  life,  174;  appreciation,  175; 
The  Woman  Taken  in  Adultery,  158; 
Christ  with  the  Doctors,  Raising  of 
Jairus's  Daughter,  Presentation  of 
Christ  in  the  Temple,  Mercury  and 
Argus,  159;  The  Wine  Contract,  160 


[204:] 


INDEX 


Egg  Dance,  The  [Aertz],  107 

Egmont,  Count,  22,  46 

Egmont,  Maria  van,   144 

Elevation  of  the  Cross  [Rembrandt],  103, 
104 

Elias,  Nicolaes,   165 

Elizabeth  of  England  assists  Dutch,   25 

Elkins,  Mrs.  William  L.,  owner  of  Wooded 
Road.  Hobbema,   191 

Elsheimer,  German  painter  who  influenced 
Rembrandt,   74 

Enraged  Swan,  The   [Jan  Asselyn],  44 

Esther  and  Mordecai   [De  Gelder],    161 

Etchings  of  Rembrandt,  74:  Old  Woman's 
Head:  Bust  of  Old  Woman:  Rem- 
brandt, a  Bust;  Rembrandt  with  an 
Open  Mouth  ;  Rembrandt  with  an  Air 
of  Grimace:  Rembrandt  with  Haggard 
Eyes;  Rembrandt  Laughing 

Everdingen,  Allart  van,  30;  school,  39; 
paints  in  Sweden,  39;  in  Amsterdam, 
43 

Everdingen,  Csesar  van,  175 

Expulsion  of  Hagar  [Steen],  148 


Fabritius,  Carel,  30:  school.  41;  in  Am- 
sterdam, 43;  teacher  of  Vermeer,  132; 
Biblical  subjects,  150;  appreciation, 
156:  tragic  death,  157;  Portrait  of 
Abraham  de  Notte,  157;  The  Decapi- 
tation of  St.  John  the  Baptist,  157 

Family  Geelvink   [Metsu]j   120 

Family  Group   [De  Hooch],    122 

Feast  of  St.  Nicholas   [Steen],   145 

Fete  of  the  Civic  Guard,  Munster,  1648 
[Flinckl,   153 

Fiddler,  The   [Van  Ostade],  110 

Fishers  for  Souls,  The   [Van  de  Venne], 
44 

Flanders,  School  of,   100,   107 

Flemish  nobles  aid   Holland,   21 

Flinck,  Covert,  30;  school,  43;  Biblical 
pictures.  150;  appreciation,  151;  Isaac 
Blessing  Jacob,  David  Handing  the 
Letter  to  Uriah,  151;  Angel  and  the 
Shepherds,  Gray-Bearded  Man,  152; 
Portrait  of  a  Little  Girl,  of  a  Young 
Woman,  of  M.  Johannes  Wittenbo- 
gaert.  Fete  of  the  Civic  Guard,  Mun- 
ster, 153 

Fragonard,  5 

Frederick  Henry,  Stadtholder,  37,  45 

Frick,  Henry  C,  owner  of  The  Music 
Lesson,  Vermeer,   140 

Fromentin,  quoted,  6,  49;  on  Rembrandt, 
78-85;  Terborch,  129 


Gallant  Soldier,  The  [Terborch],  129 
Gelder,  Aert  de,  151;  appreciation  of, 
160;  Presentation  of  Christ  in  the 
Temple,  An  Important  Document,  Por- 
trait of  a  Halberdier,  160;  Jxidah  and 
Thamar,  Esther  and  Mordecai,  Three 
Portraits.  161 
Genre  painting,  107;  inspiration  from 
Hals,  100;  high-water  mark  of,  120; 
decline   of,    124;    society  picture,    126; 


of  Terborch,  129;  not  realistic,  130; 
Valckenborch,  Aertz,  107;  Van  Ostade, 
108;  Dou.  Ill;  Maes,  114;  Metsu, 
117;  De  Hooch,  120;  Willem  and 
Frans  (Elder  and  Younger)  van 
Mieris,  122 ;  Lairesse,  Netscher,  Schal- 
cken,  125 ;  Dirck  Hals,  Duyster,  Pala- 
medesz,  Codde,  Slingeland,  126;  Ter- 
borch, 127:  Vermeer.  132;  Steen,  141 
Gerard,   Balthasar,  assassin  of  William  of 

Orange.    25 
Ghent,  birthplace  of  Charles  V.  7 
Girl  before  her  Mirror    [Van  Mieris],    124 
Girl  with   U'atcr-Jug    [Vermeer],    134 
Gorkum,  176 

Goyen,  Jan  Joseph  van,  19,  39,  40,  42, 
173,  174,  183;  life.  187;  appreciation, 
188;  compared  to  Ruisdael,  189;  Vieiu 
of  Dordrecht,  of  Arnheim,  of  Nim- 
rve.fjen.  Landscape,  188;  The  River, 
Banks  of  a  Canal,  189 
Grand  Pensionary,  47 
Grange,  Justus   de   la,   employer  of   Pieter 

de  Hooch,   121 
Gray-Bearded  Man    [Flinck],    152 
Greek   art  compared   to   Rembrandt's,    72 
Guild  of  St.  Luke,  the  Painters'   Guild,   at 
Delft,     121,     132;     Haarlem,     51,     174, 
194;  Leyden,  111,  117,  144 


H 

Haarlem,  school,  39,  50;  Scovel,  16; 
Hals,  50:  Terborch,  127;  De  Bray, 
167;  Ruisdael,  Salomon  and  Jacob, 
174;  Molyn,  174;  Wynants,  174; 
Everdingen,  174:  Van  de  Velde, 
174;  Berchem,  174;  birthplace  of 
Seghers,  170;  Wouwerman.  180;  Ruis- 
dael, 194;  residence  of  Hals,  51;  Van 
Ostade,  110;  De  Hooch,  121;  De 
Bray,  157;  Seghers,  170;  Van  de 
Velde,    174;    Wouwerman,    180 

Haarlem  Municipal  Museum,  32,  39,  52; 
corporation  pictures,  Hals,  64:  Ban- 
gnet  of  the  Officers  of  the  Archers  of 
St.  George,  64;  Banquet  of  the  Offi- 
cers of  the  Archers  of  St.  George,  65; 
Banquet  of  the  Officers  of  the  Archers 
of  St.  Andrew,  66;  Reunion  of  the 
Officers  of  the  Archers  of  St.  Andrew, 
67;  Officers  of  the  Archers  of  St. 
George,  68;  Regents  of  the  Hospital 
for  the  Poor,  52 ;  Regents  of  the  Hos- 
pital of  St.  Elizabeth,  69 

Hague:  Dutch  independence  declared,  24; 
school,  38,  42;  Ravesteyn.  167:  Miere- 
velt,  167:  residence  of  De  Hooch,  121; 
Steen,  144;  Seghers,  170;  Potter,  179; 
Van  Goyen,   187 

Hague  Royal  Museum,  37;  Portrait  of  a 
Young  Man,  St.  Simeon  in  the  Temple, 
The  Lesson  in  Anatomy,  Rembrandt, 
76:  The  Young  Mother.  Dou,  103; 
Peasants'  Holiday.  Peasants  at  an  Inn, 
Marriage  Proposal,  The  Fiddler.  Van 
Ostade,  110;  Diana  at  her  Toilet.  Neia 
Testament.  Head  of  a  Girl.  Vermeer, 
135:  View  of  Delft.  Vermeer,  136; 
While  the  Old  Ones  Sing,  etc.,  Steen, 
146 ;    Doctor   Visiting  a  Sick   Woman, 


12052 


INDEX 


Steen,  147;  Judah  and  Thamar,  De 
Gelder,  161;  The  Young  Bull,  Potter, 
179;  Cattle  and  Bathers,  Potter,  180; 
View  of  Dordrecht,  Van  Goyen,  188; 
"View  of  Haarlem  from  the  Dunes, 
Jacob  van  Ruisdael,  197;  The  Beach, 
Jacob  van  Ruisdael,  198 

Hals,  Dirck,  5;  place  in  art,  126 
Hals,  Frans,  19;  birth,  29;  life,  50; 
Guild  of  St.  Luke,  51;  death  and 
burial,  51;  personal  character,  52; 
technique.  52 ;  humor,  53 ;  point  of 
view,  54;  still-life,  57;  compared  with 
Van  der  Heist,  57;  an  Impressionist, 
59;  use  of  values,  63;  light,  63;  brush- 
work,  64;  color,  64;  simplicity  of 
gesture,  67;  decline  of  power,  69; 
Hals  and  Rembrandt,  96;  modern  in- 
fluence, 97;  overestimated,  97;  pupils, 
99;  Banquet  of  the  Officers  of  the 
Archers  of  St.  George,  64;  Banquet  of 
the  Officers  of  the  Archers  of  St. 
George,  65;  Banquet  of  the  Officers  of 
the  Archers  of  St.  Andrew,  66;  Re- 
union of  the  Officers  of  the  Archers  of 
St.  Andrew.  67;  Officers  of  the  Arch- 
ers of  St.  George.  68;  Regents  of  the 
Hospital  for  the  Poor,  52  ;  Regents  of 
the  Hospital  of  St.  Elizabeth,  69 

Hals,  Harmen,  58 

Happy  Family,  A    [Steen],   145 

Harmen  van  Rijn,  father  of  Rembrandt, 
73 

Head  and  Bust  of  Oriental  [Rembrandt], 
104 

Head  of  a  Girl   [Vermeer],   135 

Heist,  Bartholomeus  van  der,  43 ;  com- 
pared with  Hals,  57;  appreciation, 
164;  Banquet  of  the  Civic  Guard,  57, 
164  ;  Portrait  of  Paul  Potter,  163,  178 

Hendrickje,   78:   Portrait  of,  89 

Hermanszoon,  Anneke,   50 

Heyden,  Jan  van  der,  31 

Hobbema,  Meindert,  31,  39,  43;  life,  190; 
appreciation,  192;  The  Water  Mill, 
191,  192;  Avenue  of  Middelharnis. 
Wooded  Landscape,  Water-Mill 

(Louvre),   Wooded  Road,   191 

Holland,  growth  of,  3  ;  pioneer  of  modern 
era,  3;  misrule  of  Philip,  19;  inde- 
pendence of,  24 ;  birthplace  of  new 
art,  26;  Duchess  Isabella,  45;  consoli- 
dated, 45 ;  Stadtholdership  hereditary, 
46 ;  familv  of  Orange  entangled  with 
Stuarts,   47 

Holy  Familv  [Rembrandt],   102 

Homely  Scene,  A    [Steen],   145 

Hondecoeter,  Melchior  d',  31;  school,  38; 
in  Amsterdam,   43 

Hooch,  Pieter  de,  31;  school,  41;  in  Am- 
sterdam, 43;  life,  120;  influence  of 
other  painters,  138;  The  Mother,  In- 
terior, The  Pantry,  A  Dutch  Court- 
yard, Family  Group,  122;  The  Visit, 
138 

Hoogstraten,  Samuel  van,  43 

Horn,  Count  van,  22,   46 

Horses  at  the  Door  of  a  Cottage  [Potter], 
180 

Houbraken,  historian -painter,  52,   120, 
144 

Huntington,    Mrs.    Collls    P.,    owner    of 
Lady  with  a  Lute,  Vermeer,  139 


r 

Important  Document,  An  [De  Gelder],  160 
Impressionism,  59,   60;   of  Rembrandt,  86. 

92,  93 
Interior  [De  Hooch],  122 
Isaac  Blessing  Jacob   [Flinck],   151 
Isabella,  Duchess,  45 
Israels,  Josef,  106 

J 

Jacob  Presented  to  Pharaoh  by  Josech 
[Bol],    154  -^  J       *' 

Jerome  in  a  Cave,  St.   [Rembrandt],  76 

Jesus  Disputing  with  the  Doctors   [Rem- 
brandt],  75 

Jewish   Cemetery    [Jacob  van   Ruisdael], 
200 

Johnson,  Mr.  John  G.,  collector  of   Phila- 
delphia,  114 

Judah  and  Thamar  [De  Gelder],  160 

Judith  with  the  Head  of  Holof ernes   [Man- 
tegna],   157 


Kalf,  Willem,  31 

Keyser,  Thomas  de,  43;  appreciation,  165; 
Company  of  Captain  Cloeck,  Family 
Meebeeck  Cruywaghen,  Portrait  of 
Pieter  Schout.  Old  Lady  and  her  Three 
Daughters,  Old  Man  and  his  Two 
Sons,  Portrait  of  a   Woman,   166 

Koninck,  Philips,  30;  in  Amsterdam,  43, 
174;  appreciation.  172;  The  Dunes, 
Valley  of  the  Rhine  near  Arnheim, 
Dutch  Landscape,  Landscape  with 
Cattle  (Berlin),  Landscape  with  Cat- 
tle (Rijks),  Four  Portraits  of  Joost 
van  der.  Vondel,  173 


Lace-Maker,   The    [Vermeer],    139 

Lady  and  her  Doctor   [Van  Mieris],   124 

Lady  at  a  Spinet   [Vermeer],   140 

Lady  at  her  Toilet   [Dou],   112 

Lady  at  the  Clavichord    [Netscher],    125 

Lady  Washing  her  Hands    [Terborch],    136 

Lady  with  a  Lute   [Vermeer],   139 

Lady  with  the  Pearl  Necklace   [Vermeer], 

138 
Lady  Writing  [Vermeer],  139 
Lairesse,   Gerard   de,    125 
Landscape,     169;     painters    of:     Seghers, 
169;      Rembrandt,      173;      Jacob     van 
Ruisdael,      173,      193 ;      Salomon     van 
Ruisdael,    174;    Molyn,    173;    Berchem, 
174;  Wouwerman.  174,   180;  "Wynants, 
175;     Van     der    Neer,     176;     Van     de 
Velde,  183;   with  cattle,  Potter,   179 
Landscape  with  Cattle   [Koninck],   173 
Landscape  with  Cattle    [Potter],   180 
Landscape  with  Fence  [Jacob  van  Ruis- 
dael],  199 
Landscape  with   Waterfall    [Jacob  van 

Ruisdael],   194 
Last  Judgment   [Van  Leyden],  74 
Lastman,  Pieter,  73 
League  of  Nobles,  21 
Lesson  in  Anatomy   [Rembrandt],   76 


[:206  3 


INDEX 


Letter,  The  [Vermeer],  138 

Leyden,  founding  of  university,  35; 
School  of,  38,  40;  Dou,  111;'  Steen, 
144;  birthplace  of  Rembrandt,  73; 
Dou,  111;  Metsu,  117:  Mieris,  122; 
Steen,  144;  Willem  van  de  Vclde, 
Elder  and  Younger,  18(5;  Van  Goyen, 
187;  residence  of  Rembrandt,  74; 
Dou,   111 ;   Steen,   144 

Liberty,  Statue  of,  87 

Liechtenstein  Gallery,  Vienna:  Portrait  of  a 
Oirl.  Bol,   155 

Louvre:  The  Supper  at  Emmaus.  The 
Good  Samaritan,  Rembrandt,  82;  The 
Dropsical  Woman.  Dou,  112;  Vege- 
table Market.  Metsu,  118;  The  Gallant 
Soldier.  Terborch,  129;  Angel  and  the 
Shepherds,  Flinck,  152;  Portrait  of  a 
Little  Girl.  Flinck,  153;  Portrait  of  a 
Mathematician,  Bol,  154;  Horses  at 
the  Door  of  a  Cottage,  Potter,  180; 
The  Rirer.  Banks  of  a  Canal.  Van 
Goyen,  189;  Water  Mill,  Hobbema,  191 
vers  at  Breakfast   [Metsu],    118 

Lucas  van  Leyden,  15,  74;  The  Last  Judg- 
ment, 74 

Luminarist,  80 


M 

Maas,   River,   182 

Maes,  Nicolaes,  31,  144;  school,  43;  in- 
fluenced by  Rembrandt,  105 ;  life, 
114;  appreciation,  115;  A  Reverie, 
Asking  a  Blessing,  Nurse  and  Chil- 
dren, 114;  The  Young  Card-Players, 
114,  116;  Old  Woman  Peeling  Apples, 
The  Cradle,  Dutch  Housewife.  115; 
Old  Woman  Spinning,  115,  116;  Por- 
trait of  a  Man.  116 

Man  and  Woman  Selling  Poultry  [Metsu], 

iWanet,  Edouard,  60 

Mantegna,  Judith  with  the  Head  of  Holo- 
f  ernes.   157 

Marine-painters,  44;  Vlieger,  44,  185; 
Bakhuysen,  44;  Verschuier,  185;  Wil- 
lem van  de  Velde,  Elder  and  Younger, 
44.   Vroom.   185 

Marriage  at  Cana    [Steen],    148 

Marriage  Proposal,  The  [Van  Ostade],  110 

Matisse,   French   artist,    93 

Maurice,  Stadtholder,  37,  45 

Mercury  and  Argus    [Eeckhout],   159 

Metropolitan  Museum,  New  York,  88,  90; 
A  Music  Party.  Metsu,  119;  Girl  with 
Water-Jug.  Vermeer,    135 

Metsu,  Gabriel,  31;  school,  40;  in  Am- 
sterdam, 43;  pupil  of  Hals,  99;  in- 
fluenced by  Dou,  111;  life,  117;  ap- 
preciation, 117-119;  The  Blacksmith, 
117;  Old  Woman  in  Meditation,  Man 
and  Woman  Selling  Poultry,  Lovers  at 
Breakfast,  118;  A  Music  Party,  Visit 
to  the  Nursery,  119;  Family  Geelvink, 
120 

Meyer,   Baron   A.,  photographs   of,   58 

Mierevelt,  Michiel  Jansz   van,    19,    41,    167 

Mieris,  Frans  van,  the  Elder,  40  ;  influenced 
by  Dou,  111:  life,  122;  appreciation, 
123;  The  Sick  Woman.  The  Oyster 
Breakfast,     123;     The    Girl    before    a 


Mirror,  A  Lady  and  her  Doctor,  Cava- 
lier in  a  Shop,   124 

Mill  near  Wyk-by-Duurstede   [Jacob  van 
Ruisdael],   199 

Models,   Rembrandt's  use  of,    104,   150 

Monet,  Claude,   60 

Moral  character  of  Dutch  painting,  27 

Moreelse,   Paulus,    167 

Morgan,  Mr.  J.  Pierpont,  owner  of  Visit 
to  the  Nursery,  Metsu,  119;  Lady 
Writing,  The  Lace-Maker,  Vermeer, 
139;  The  Water  Mill,  Hobbema,  184, 
191;  Wooded  Landscape,  Hobbema, 
191 

Moro,  Antonio,  16 

Mother,  The  [De  Hooch],  122 

Munich  Pinakothek.     See  Pinakothek 

Music  Lesson,  The   [Vermeer],  140 


N 

National  Gallery,  London:  Peace  of  MUn- 
ster,  Terborch,  39,  127;  The  Young 
Card-Players.  Maes,  114,  116;  The 
Cradle,  Dutch  Housewife,  Maes,  115; 
An  Interior,  De  Hooch,  121;  A  Dutch 
Courtyard,  Family  Group,  De  Hooch, 
122 ;  Lady  at  a  Spinet,  Vermeer,  140 ; 
The  Doctor's  Visit,  Steen,  147;  The 
Wine  Contract,  Eeckhout,  160;  Tobit 
and  the  Angel,  Rembrandt,  172; 
Moonlight  Landscape,  Landscape  with 
Trees,  Landscape  with  Cattle,  Van  der 
Neer,  177;  Landscape  with  Cattle, 
Potter,  180;  Landscape  with  Cattle, 
Cuyp,  182;  Avenue  of  Middelharnis, 
Hobbema,  191;  Landscape  with  TTater- 
fall,  Jacob  van  Ruisdael,  194;  Shore 
at  Scheveningen,  Ruisdael,   198 

Neer,  Aert  van  der,  30 ;  school,  43 ;  ap- 
preciation, 176;  Moonlight  Scenes,  in 
National  Gallery  and  Imperial  Art  Mu- 
seum, Vienna,  177;  Winter  Scene, 
Scene   with  Cattle,    177 

Netscher,  Caspar,  school,  42;  apprecia- 
tion, 125 ;  A  Lady  at  the  Clavichord, 
125 

New  Testament,  The   [Vermeer],   136 

Night  School,  The   [Dou],   113 

Night  Watch,  The  [Rembrandt],  77,  79, 
81,   84 

Nurse  and  Children   [Maes],   114 


Officer  Writing  a  Letter    [Terborch],    136 
Old  Lady  and  her  Three  Daughters   [De 

Keyser],   3  66 
Old  Man  and  his  Two  Sons    [De  Keyser], 

166 
Old  Woman  in  Meditation   [Metsu],  118 
Old  Woman  Peeling  Apples   [Maes],   116 
Old  Woman  Peeling  Apples    [Terborch], 

136 
Old  Woman  Saying  Grace   [Dou],   103 
Old  Woman  Spinning   [Maes],    114 
Old   Woman  who  has  Lost  her   Thread 

[Dou],    112 
Orange,  Prince  William  of,  23,  29,  46 
Oriental   art,   94 
Oriental  Figure  [Rembrandt],   104 


Csot: 


INDEX 


Orley,  Barend  van,  15 ;  The  Day  of  Judg- 
ment,   15 

Ostade,  Adriaen  van,  30;  school,  39;  pupil 
of  Hals,  99;  life,  108;  appreciation, 
109;  pupils,  110;  The  Peasants'  Holi- 
day, Peasants  at  an  Inn,  Marriage 
Proposal,  The  Fiddler,  110 

Ostade,  Isaac  van,  110 

Oyster  Breakfast,  The   [Mieris],   123 


Presentation  of  Christ  in  the  Temple  [De 

Gelder],  160 
Presentation  of  Christ  in  the  Temple  [Eeck- 

hout],   159 
Presentation  with  the  Angel   [Rembrandt], 

75 
Prince's  Birthday  [Steen],   146 
Proposal,  The   [Vermeer],  134 


Palamedesz,  Antonie,  school,  41 ;  apprecia- 
tion,   126 
Pantry,  The   [De  Hooch],   122 
Paul,  St.   [Rembrandt],   76 
Peace  of  Miinster,  46 
Peace  of  Miinster   [Terborch],  39,  127 
Peasants  at  an  Inn   [Van  Ostade],   110 
Peasants'  Holiday    [Van  Ostade],   110 
Petersburg,  St.,  The  Swamp  in  the  Wood, 

Jacob  van  Ruisdael,  199 
Philip  I,  3,  9,  10 

Philip    II:    misrule    of    Netherlands,     19; 
nobles   resist,    21;    ambition,    25;    close 
of.  reign,   26 
Pieter  Schout,  Portrait  of  [De  Keyser],  166 
Pinakothek,    Munich:    Holy    Family,    Rem- 
brandt,    102 ;    The    Descent    from    the 
Cross,     The    Elevation    of     the    Cross, 
Rembrandt,  103,  104;  The  Burial,  The 
Resurrection,     Rembrandt,     103;     The 
Adoration     of     the     Shepherds,     Rem- 
brandt,   104,    159;    Old  Woman  Saying 
Grace,   Dou,    103;    Lady  at  her  Toilet, 
Dou,     112;     The     Sick     Woman,     The 
Oyster    Breakfast,    Van    Mieris,     123 ; 
Girl  before  a  Mirror,  Van  Mieris,   124; 
Portraits     of     Man     and     Wife,     three 
others,   Bol,   155 
Plein-air,  63,   131,   170,   171 
Portrait  of  a  Girl   [Bol],    155 
Portrait  of  a  Little  Girl   [Flinck],   153 
Portrait  of  a  Man   [Maes],   116 
Portrait  of  a  Woman    [De  Keyser],   160 
Portrait  of  a  Young  Man   [Flinck],   152 
Portrait  of  A.  de  Notte   [Fabritius],   157 
Portrait  of  Elizabeth  Bas   [Rembrandt],  89 
Portrait  of  Himself   [Rembrandt],   78 
Portrait   of   M.   Johannes    Wittenbogaert 

[Flinck],   152 
Portrait  of  Old  Woman    [Metsu],    118 
Portrait  of  Paul  Potter   [Van  der  Heist], 

178 
Portraits,  painters  of,  33  :  school  of  Haar- 
lem, 39;  Delft,  41;  The  Hague,  42; 
Hals,  49;  Rembrandt,  89;  Maes,  116; 
Terborch,  128;  Vermeer,  141;  Sant- 
voort,  151,  161:  Flinck,  151;  Bol, 
155;  Fabritius,  156;  Eeckhout,  160; 
De  Gelder,  160;  Van  der  Heist,  162; 
De  Keyser,  165;  Mierevelt,  167;  Rave- 
steyn,  De  Bray,  Moreelse,  167 
Portraits   of  Man '  and  Wife,  three  other 

portraits    [Bol],   155" 
Portraiture,   150 

Potter,  Paul,  appreciation,  178;  life,  179; 
The  Young  Bull,  179;  Bear  Hunt, 
Boar  Hunt,  Cattle  and  Bathers,  Horses 
at  the  Door  of  a  Cottage,  Landscape 
with  Cattle,  180 
Pourbus,  Pieter,  16 


Raising  of  Jairus's  Daughter  [Eeckhout], 
159 

Ravesteyn,  Jan  Anthonisz  van,  19;  school, 
42,    167 

Regents  of  the  Hospital  for  the  Poor 
[Hals],   52 

Regents  of  the  Hospital  of  St.  Elizabeth 
[Hals],   69 

Rembrandt,  Harmensz  van  Rijn,  71;  indi- 
tidualitv,  4;  birth,  30;  School  of  Ley- 
den,  40;  Amsterdam,  43:  Holland's 
leading  painter,  49 :  life,  72 ;  etchings, 
74:  personality,  75;  in  Amsterdam, 
76;  beginning  of  fame,  77;  marriage 
and  death  of  Saskia,  second  marriage, 
77;  bankruptcy,  78;  Fromentin's  criti- 
cism, 79,  85  ;  chiaroscuro,  80 ;  abstract 
idea,  88;  color,  91;  symbolism,  92;  Im- 
pressionist, 93 ;  compared  with  Hals, 
96;  influence  on  genre,  102;  use  of  the 
arch,  104;  St.  Paul,  St.  Jerome  in  a 
Cave,  St.  Simeon  in  the  Temple.  76; 
The  Lesson  in  Anatomy,  76,  85 ;  Sortie 
of  the  Frans  Banning  Cock  Company 
(The  Night  Watch),  77,  79,  81,  84; 
The  Syndics  of  the  Cloth  Guild,  78; 
Portrait  of  Himself,  78:  Shipper  at 
Emmaus,  82,  148;  Good  Samaritan, 
82;  Portrait  of  Elizabeth  Bas.  89; 
Holy  Family,  102 ;  Descent  from  the 
Cross.  103:  Elevation  of  the  Cross, 
103,  104;  Burial,  Resurrection,  Adora- 
tion of  the  Shepherds,  Oriental  Figure, 
Head  and  Bust  of  an  Oriental,  104; 
Tobit  and  the  Angel,   172 

Renaissance  art,  72 

Rest  of  the  Holy  Family   [Bol],    154 

Resurrection,   The    [Rembrandt],   104 

Reunion  of  the  Officers  of  the  Archers  of 
St.  Andrew   [Hals],   66,   67 

Reverie   [Maes],    114 

Reyniers,   Lysbeth,   51 

Rijks  Museum,  Amsterdam,  44,  59;  The 
Enraged  Swan,  Asselyn,  44;  Fishers 
for  Souls.  Van  de  Venne,  44 ;  Syndics 
of  the  Cloth  Guild,  Rembrandt,  78; 
Sortie  of  the  Frans  Banning  Cork 
Company,  Rembrandt,  78,  79,  81,  84; 
Portrait  of  Elizabeth  Bas,  Rembrandt, 
89:  The  Egg  Dance,  Aertz,  107;  The 
Night  School,  Dou,  113:  A  Reverie, 
Metsu,  114;  Asking  a  Blessing,  Old 
Woman  Spinning,  Metsu,  115,  116: 
The  Blacksmith.  Metsu,  117;  Old 
Woman  in  Meditation,  Metsu,  118; 
The  Interior,  The  Pantry,  De  Hooch, 
122;  The  Cook,  Vermeer,  137:  Totmg 
Woman  Reading  a  Letter.  Vermeer, 
138;  A  Homely  Scene,  The  Happy 
Family,  The  Feast  of  St.  Nicholas, 
Steen,     145;     The    Prince's    Birthday, 


[208] 


INDEX 


The  Sick  Lady.  Steen,  146;  The  Dis- 
ciples at  Emtnaits.  Steen,  148;  Isaac 
Blessing  Jacob,  Flinek,  151:  Portrait 
of  M.  Johannes  Wittenboffaert,  Fete  of 
the  Civic  Guard,  Miinster.  164S, 
Flinek,  153;  Abraham  Receiving  the 
Angels,  Salotne  Dancing  before  Herod, 
Bol,  154:  iS'ix  Governors  of  the  Ilui.izit- 
tenhuis,  Four  Governors  of  the  Leper 
House,  Roelof  Metilenaar,  2Iaria  Rey. 
Artus  Quellinus.  Bol,  156:  Portrait  of 
Abraham  de  Notte,  Decapitation  of 
St.  John  the  Baptist.  Pabritiiis,  157; 
TTomnn  Taken  in  Adult  en/.  Eeckhout, 
158;  Three  Portraits,  De  Gelder.  161; 
Portrait  of  Dirck  Bas  Jacnhsz  Family, 
Four  Ladies  of  the  Spinhuis,  Sant- 
voort,  161;  Banquet  of  the  Civic 
Guard,  Ynn  der  Heist,  57,  164;  Por- 
trait of  Paul  Potter,  Van  der  Heist, 
163;  Company  of  Captain  Clneck, 
Family  Meebeeck  Cruyivaghen,  Portrait 
of  Pieter  Schout,  De  Kevser,  166; 
Maria  van  Utrecht.  The  Little  Prin- 
cess, Moreelse,  167:  Four  Portraits  of 
Joo.it  van  den  Vondel.  Two  Land- 
scapes with  Cattle.  Koninck,  173; 
Landscape.  Everdingen,  175;  The 
Bear  Hunt.  Potter,  180;  Portrait  of 
the  Tan  de  Telde  Fatyiily,  Van  de 
Velde,  183;  Charles  II  Entering  Rot- 
terdam, 24  May,  1660,  Verschuier, 
186;  Landscape,  Van  Goyen,  188; 
View  of  Haarlem  from  the  Dunes, 
Jacob  van  Ruisdael,  197;  Mill  near 
Wyk-hy-Duurstede,  Jacob  van  Ruis- 
dael. 199 

River   [Van  Goyen],   188 

Rotterdam,  birthplace  of  De  Hooch,  120; 
Mieger.    185 ;   Verschuier,   185 

Rubens,  Peter  Paul,  18 

Ruisdael,  Jacob  van,  compared  to  Goyen, 
189;  appreciation,  193;  life,  194;  in- 
crease of  power,  196 ;  compared  to 
Rembrandt,  200;  Landscape  with 
Waterfall,  194;  Castle  Bentheim.  195; 
Village  in  the  Wood.  196;  View  of 
Haarlem  from  the  Hill  of  Overveen, 
197;  The  Beach.  Shore  at  Schevenin- 
gen,  198;  The  Mill  near  Wyk-by-Duur- 
stede.  The  Swamp  in  the  Wood.  The 
Oak  Wood,  The  Big  Wood,  Landscape 
with  Fence,  199;  Jewish  Cemetery,  200 

Ruisdael,  Salomon  van,  174 


St.  Simeon  in  the  Temple  [Rembrandt],  76 

Salome  Dancing  before  Herod  [Bol],   151 

Santvoort,  Dirck  Dircksz,  151;  apprecia- 
tion, 161 ;  Portrait  of  Dirck  Bas 
Jacobsz  Family,  Four  Ladies  of  the 
Spinhuis,  161;  Four  Governors  of  the 
Serge  Hall,  Frederick  Dircksz  Alewyn, 
Agatha  Geelvinck,  Martinus  Alewyn, 
Clara  Alewyn,   162 

Saskia  van  Uylenborch,  77 

Schalcken,   Godfried,   42 ;    influenced  by 
Dou,   111:  appreciation,   125 

Schatter,   Captain  Johan,  66 

Scovel,    Jan    van,    life,    16;    appreciation. 


17;    portrait    group   of  twelve   Knights 
Templars,   17 

Seghers,  Hercules,  19 ;  born  at  Amster- 
dam, 43;  appreciation,  169;  influenced 
Koninck,  173,  174;  Holland  Landscape 
irith  the  Hamlet  of  Rhenen,  Landscape, 
169 

Shore  at  Scheveningen  [Jacob  van  Ruis- 
dael],  198 

Sick   Woman,  The    [Van  Mieris],    123 

Sidney,   Sir   Philip,   25 

Sleeping  Girl    [Vermeer],    136 

Slingeland,  Pieter  Cornelisz  van,  influenced 
by   Dou,    111,    126 

Sortie  of  the  Frans  Banning  Cock  Com- 
pany   [Rembrandt),    77,    79 

Spain,  downfall  of,  26 

Spanish  Fury,  22 

Steen,  Jan,  31;  school,  39,  40;  apprecia- 
tion, 141;  humor,  143;  life,  144; 
stories  of  reckless  life,  145;  A  Homely 
Scene,  Fea.tt  of  St.  Nicholas,  Happy 
Family,  145;  The  Christening  Party. 
While  the  Old  Ones  Sing  the  Young 
Ones  Pipe,  Twelfth  Night.  The  Prince's 
Birthday,  The  Sick  Lady.  146;  Doctor 
Visiting  a  Sick  Young  Woman,  A 
Doctor's  Visit,  147;  The  Marriage  at 
Cana,  Expulsion  of  Hagar,  Disciples 
at  Emmaus.   148 

Still-Iife,  Dutch  interest  in,  31;  Van 
Heeni,  Weenix,  Kalf,  Hondecoeter, 
31,  38 

Stoffels,   Hendrickje,   78 

Supper  at  Emmaus   [Rembrandt],  82,   148 

Swamp  in  the  Wood  [Jacob  van  Ruisdael], 
199 

Swanenburch,  Jacob  van,  41;  teacher  of 
Rembrandt,    73 

Symbolism,   95,    197,    200 

Syndics  of  the  Cloth  Guild  [Rembrandt], 
56 


Technique,  as  a  motive,  28 

Terborch,  Gerard,  30;  school,  39;  pupil 
of  Hals,  99;  appreciation,  127;  life, 
128 ;  influence  of  Hals,  Rembrandt, 
and  Velasquez,  128;  portraits,  128; 
color,  131;  The  Peace  of  Miinster, 
127;  The  Gallant  Soldier.  129;  The 
Concert,  Officer  Writing  a  Letter,  Lady 
Washing  her  Hands,  Old  Woman  Peel- 
ing Apples,  130 

Tintoretto,  14 

Titian,  14 

Tobit  and  the  Angel   [Rembrandt],  172 

Tulp,   Dr.,   76 

Twelfth  Night   [Steen],   146 


u 

Uffizi  Gallery,  Florence,  Landscape, 

Seghers.    169 
Union  of  Utrecht,  23 
Utrecht,   school    of   painting:    Scovel,    16; 

birthplace   of  Moreelse,    167;    residence 

of  Scovel,   16;   Moreelse,   167;   Seghers, 

170 
Uylenborch,  Saskia  van,  77 


[209:] 


INDEX 


Valckenborch,  Lucas  van,  107;  apprecia- 
tion, 126 

Values,   134 

Vanderbilt,  W.  K.,  collector,   104 

Vegefable  Market,  The   [Metsu],   118 

Velasquez,  60  ;  influenced  Rembrandt,  93  : 
Hals,   97 

Velde,  Adriaen  van  de,  31,  43,  178;  ap- 
preciation, 183,  196;  Family  of  Van 
de  Telde,   183 

Velde,  Esaias  van  de,  39,   187 

Velde,  Willem  van  de,  the  Elder,  30,  184; 
appreciation,    186 

Velde,  Willem  van   de,  the  Younger,  44 ; 
appreciation,   186 

Venne,  Adriaen  van  de,  44 

Vermeer,  Johannes,  31;  school,  41;  life, 
132;  appreciation,  132;  comparison 
with  Rembrandt,  133;  plein-air,  170; 
The  Proposal.  134;  Girl  with  Wafer- 
Jug,  135,  139;  Diana  at  her  Toilet. 
New  Testament.  Head  of  a  Girl,  Diana 
and  her  Nymphs,  135:  Sleeping  Girl, 
Tiew  of  Delft,  136:  The  Cook,  137; 
The  Letter.  Yonng  Woman  Reading  a 
Letter.  Lady  with  Pearl  Neel-lace, 
138;  Lady  with  a  Lute,  Lady  Writing. 
The  Lace-MaJcer,  139;  The  Coquette, 
Lady  at  a  Spinet,  The  Music  Lesson, 
The  Artist  in  his  Studio,  140;  Portrait 
of  a  Lady,  141 

Veronese,  Paolo,  14 

Verschuier,  Lieve,  185;  Charles  II  Enter- 
ing -Rotterdam,   186 

Veth,  Jan,  182 

Vienna  Art-History  Museum,  107;  A  Lady 
and  her  Doctor.  Cavalier  in  a  Shop, 
Mieris,  124;  Old  Woman  Peeling  Ap- 
ples, Terborch,  130:  Gray-Bearded 
Man,  Flinck,  152;  The  Big  Wood, 
Ruisdael,   199 

Vienna  Imperial  Art  Museum:  Moonlight 
and  Winter  Landscapes,  "Van  der 
Neer,  177:  Landscape  with  Fence, 
Jacob  van  Ruisdael,    199 

View  of  Arnheim   [Van  Goyen],  188 

View  of  Delft   [Vermeer],  137 

View  of  Dordrecht  [Van  Goyen],  188 


View  of  Nimwegen    [Van  Goyen],   188 
Visit,  The   [De  Hooch],   138 
Visit  to  the  Nursery   [Metsu],   119 
Vlieger,  Simon  de,  34,   44;   appreciation, 

185 
Vondel,  Joost  van  den.  Portrait  of 

[Koninck],   173 
Vroom,  Hendrick  Cornelisz,  185 


W 

Wagner,  quotation  on  art,  4 

Wallace    Collection:     Winter    Scene,    Van 

der  Neer,    177;   Landscape  with  Cattle, 

Cuyp,   182 
Water  Mill   [Hobbema],   191 
Water  Mill   (Louvre)    [Hobbema],   191 
Watteau,  5 

Weenix,  Jan, '31;  school,  38,  43 
Westphalia,   Treaty  of,   46 
When   the   Old   Ones  Sing  the   Young   Ones 

Pipe   [Steen],    146 
Whistler,   95 
William,     Prince     of     Orange,     8:     resists 

Spain,   21;   price  put  on  his  head,   23; 

offered  the  crown,  24:  death,  25 
William  III  of  England,  47 
Wine  Contract,   The    [Eeckhout],    160 
Witt,  Johan  de,  46 

Woman  Taken  in  Adultery   [Eeckhout],  158 
Wooded  Landscape    [Hobbema],    191 
Wooded  Road   [Hobbema],    191 
Wouwerman,  Philips,  30,   174;   school,   39; 

pupil   of   Hals,    99,    178;    appreciation, 

180,   184,  195 
Wynants,  Jan,  30,   174,   175;  school,  39, 

43,   84 


Young  Bull,  The  [Potter],  179 

Young  Card-Players,  The   [Maes],   114, 

116 
Young  Man  and  Girl  in  a  Cellar  [Dou], 

113 
young  Mother,  The   [Dou],   103 
Young  Woman   Reading  a  Letter   [Ver- 
meer], 138 


[210] 


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